Independent and Self-Sufficient
By Janice Price
“I’m coming back to work,” Curt said, grinning from ear to ear, as I came through the office door.
I was taken aback for a moment and then realized he was joking. Never again would he trot up the stairs, climb on the roof or rev up his motorcycle engine before he burned rubber out of the parking lot.
Curt was adept at taking things apart and fixing them. He enjoyed his job as maintenance man at an apartment complex. The tenants enjoyed his good humor. (One time he filled a tenant’s apartment with helium balloons while she was at work.)
Young women considered the lanky man good-looking. He had time for dating and for late night partying with his friends, but he put off allowing God into his life. After all, he was young, independent and self-sufficient. He shied away from people who mentioned Jesus or worshipped and prayed to a Creator.
Life was good.
Until the night he drank too much alcohol, climbed on his motorcycle and sped away with his mother sitting on the seat behind him. The motorcycle left the road at a high rate of speed and slammed into a tree. His mother suffered major injuries but she would live. Curt was not expected to survive.
It was touch and go for a while but Curt did survive. The word “miracle” was used. The only one who was unhappy about the news was Curt. When he was conscious and able to comprehend the extent of his injuries, he pulled out the needle to his IV line and disconnected everything within reach. His life, he believed at that moment, was over.
It was a long and painful recovery. His mother renovated her trailer to accommodate his new lifestyle. He was now a paraplegic, no longer totally independent and self-sufficient. He would never walk again.
The day he took his first solo bus ride, he maneuvered his wheelchair through the apartment complex and into the office for a leisurely visit. He had retained his wonderful sense of humor, but he had changed. He believed he survived for a purpose and he now had time for God in his life.
I never saw Curt again so I don’t know the end of his story, but God is able to change hearts and lives so I have always had hope that Curt learned to walk in the spirit when his physical legs could no longer hold him upright.
He (God) gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Independence Day
By Janice Price
July 4th is the day we generally celebrate America’s independence, but this year I have reflected more on spiritual than physical independence. Mainly because my brother presented me with a DVD drive and I was finally able to view the video “Called to be Free.”
This video, produced by Living Hope Ministries ( www.lhvm.org ), is about a dramatic theology shift in the Worldwide Church of God (www.wcg.org ) and how the changes affected the church structure and membership. Joseph Tkach, Ron Kelly, Mike Feazell, Dan Rogers, and other ministers and members of the Worldwide Church of God reminisced in interviews. They talked of their individual experiences and how each of them came to see the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong were off the Christian track and the WCG was not the church –the one and only true church of God - but a cult.
Admitting decades of doctrinal errors cost the church dearly in membership and financial stability. Discussions were heated, friends and families divided over doctrine, and some ministers left with large portions of their congregations following them into one of several breakaway churches.
Some members embraced the new theology, but others adamantly refused to acknowledge that Herbert W. Armstrong could be wrong, even to the smallest degree. Some remained with the WCG but held fast to the core belief of the Saturday Sabbath and the Holy Days. Some decided the changes meant it no longer mattered what church one attended, so why continue to drive twenty or thirty miles each way to services? Some adopted one doctrinal belief system, others another. It was a confusing time when everyone’s faith was tested.
Members who remained with the WCG began to understand they had been living under the Old Covenant instead of under the New. Although he was once preached as the messenger spreading the Good News (Gospel) of the coming Kingdom of God, it was now understood Christ Jesus is the Gospel. The Holy Spirit, previously considered “it” - the power of God – suddenly became “he.”
Despite the initial joy of finally coming to know the true Jesus, there was a lot of anger at the church for having taught and strictly enforced legalism. For many there was an inward anger. How could I have believed this? Denied my children a normal childhood over this? Lost my marriage and my family over this? Lost my career over keeping the Holy Days? Lived in poverty, carrying the burden of two tithes and a third tithe every three years, to support the high living lifestyle of Herbert W. Armstrong and those in authority at headquarters in Pasadena?
This was not the usual church split over a point of doctrine. This was more like the combined United States Armed Forces marching off to war together - basically in step and in one direction – until about half of them suddenly execute an about face and try to march in an opposing direction, while still intermingled with the troops marching to war in the original direction.
All of this was not gleaned from the video. The video just brought memories of that time flooding to the surface. Some were bad memories; I witnessed some of the ugly side of the transition. But I also witnessed the miracle. It’s always a miracle when God opens anyone’s eyes to see Spiritual truth.
In 2 Corinthians3:15-16, Paul writes: But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
For some reason, God was preparing me. I was reading outside literature and learning things I knew were not sanctioned by the Worldwide Church of God. Others were also, but many were caught unprepared for such a major doctrinal shift. Still, the same Spirit that lifted the veil from my heart, lifted it from the hearts of the other WCG members who were willing to accept a course correction.
I’ve had several memorable Independence Days in my life, none of which had anything to do with the fourth of July. But coming out of spiritual darkness into God’s light was the greatest Independence Day of my life.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
By Janice Price
July 4th is the day we generally celebrate America’s independence, but this year I have reflected more on spiritual than physical independence. Mainly because my brother presented me with a DVD drive and I was finally able to view the video “Called to be Free.”
This video, produced by Living Hope Ministries ( www.lhvm.org ), is about a dramatic theology shift in the Worldwide Church of God (www.wcg.org ) and how the changes affected the church structure and membership. Joseph Tkach, Ron Kelly, Mike Feazell, Dan Rogers, and other ministers and members of the Worldwide Church of God reminisced in interviews. They talked of their individual experiences and how each of them came to see the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong were off the Christian track and the WCG was not the church –the one and only true church of God - but a cult.
Admitting decades of doctrinal errors cost the church dearly in membership and financial stability. Discussions were heated, friends and families divided over doctrine, and some ministers left with large portions of their congregations following them into one of several breakaway churches.
Some members embraced the new theology, but others adamantly refused to acknowledge that Herbert W. Armstrong could be wrong, even to the smallest degree. Some remained with the WCG but held fast to the core belief of the Saturday Sabbath and the Holy Days. Some decided the changes meant it no longer mattered what church one attended, so why continue to drive twenty or thirty miles each way to services? Some adopted one doctrinal belief system, others another. It was a confusing time when everyone’s faith was tested.
Members who remained with the WCG began to understand they had been living under the Old Covenant instead of under the New. Although he was once preached as the messenger spreading the Good News (Gospel) of the coming Kingdom of God, it was now understood Christ Jesus is the Gospel. The Holy Spirit, previously considered “it” - the power of God – suddenly became “he.”
Despite the initial joy of finally coming to know the true Jesus, there was a lot of anger at the church for having taught and strictly enforced legalism. For many there was an inward anger. How could I have believed this? Denied my children a normal childhood over this? Lost my marriage and my family over this? Lost my career over keeping the Holy Days? Lived in poverty, carrying the burden of two tithes and a third tithe every three years, to support the high living lifestyle of Herbert W. Armstrong and those in authority at headquarters in Pasadena?
This was not the usual church split over a point of doctrine. This was more like the combined United States Armed Forces marching off to war together - basically in step and in one direction – until about half of them suddenly execute an about face and try to march in an opposing direction, while still intermingled with the troops marching to war in the original direction.
All of this was not gleaned from the video. The video just brought memories of that time flooding to the surface. Some were bad memories; I witnessed some of the ugly side of the transition. But I also witnessed the miracle. It’s always a miracle when God opens anyone’s eyes to see Spiritual truth.
In 2 Corinthians3:15-16, Paul writes: But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
For some reason, God was preparing me. I was reading outside literature and learning things I knew were not sanctioned by the Worldwide Church of God. Others were also, but many were caught unprepared for such a major doctrinal shift. Still, the same Spirit that lifted the veil from my heart, lifted it from the hearts of the other WCG members who were willing to accept a course correction.
I’ve had several memorable Independence Days in my life, none of which had anything to do with the fourth of July. But coming out of spiritual darkness into God’s light was the greatest Independence Day of my life.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
Thursday, June 30, 2005
WHERE DID THE WATER GO
Where Did the Water Go
By Janice Price
If God can use my pets to teach me spiritual lessons, I shouldn’t be surprised at anything else he uses to help keep my focus on him. But I was surprised this morning to realize there is a spiritual lesson in the malfunctioning toilet tank.
The water has been turning itself on and off for a while now. It’s annoying, but who has time to spend on things that aren’t actually broken. Early the other morning I decided to take a quick look inside the tank. Big mistake. I barely touched the floating ball before it actually was floating and water was pouring out onto the bathroom floor.
I have heard you can fix or at least do a temporary emergency repair on just about anything using duct tape. This is not true and floating balls have been added to my list of duct tape failures.
I turned off the water and tried to contact my landlord, or my brother, or anyone with two hands and a pair of galoshes. I reached someone who said she could fix it later in the day. She replaced all the innards except the flapper ball and tested it.
Later I heard water running again, so yesterday morning I left another message on my brother’s answering machine. He suggested the flapper might need replacing or merely a cleaning since gritty dirt had recently gotten into my tap water and also into the toilet tank. I cleaned the dirt out of the tank. It still turned on and off at intervals.
Early this morning I lifted the tank lid to check the water level and stared in disbelief. The tank was empty. Where did the water go?
A neighbor tells me the flapper ball isn’t set right or needs replacing and I’m fortunate the new part isn’t working right or I would have to hock my landlord’s house to pay the next water bill. (If you’re interested in how a toilet works, there’s a toilet flushing demonstration at http://home.howstuffworks.com/toilet1.htm )
As I was reading the Bible this morning, I realized the where-did-the-water-go feeling was familiar. It’s the same stomach-dropping sensation as where-did-the Spirit-go? I’m sure most of you are familiar with it. You read the Bible, meditate on it, pray, rise for the day all enthused and feeling ready to take on the world, but before you can leave the house, you’re kicking the dog (not literally!) or scaring the children.
For example, Tuesday I rose at 5 a.m., took out the dogs, and spent time with God in prayer and study. Refreshed, I proceeded to finish my routine so I could be somewhere at 8:30. Then the toilet broke and my routine flew out the window, shattering the glass. I was in a tizzy, trying to find someone to help me later in the day, getting washed and dressed, feeding the animals and accomplishing a host of little things that eat into the morning, and trying to be almost on time for my appointment.
Every way I turned, I was tripping over an animal, most often one named Buddy. First, they heard, “Get out of my way.” Soon it was, "Get out of my way," in a louder, more forceful tone. And in no time at all, it was a screeching, "GET OUT OF MY WAAAAAY!" Where did the calm, refreshed, spiritual-minded Jan go?
Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as "rivers of living water." So why would it seem as if the water suddenly stops flowing, even temporarily, and drains away, much like the water in the tank is doing at this very moment. The Spirit doesn’t enter through a hole in our heads and drain through a hole in our feet when we’re bad or when we don’t feel his presence.
We are to walk by faith, not by feelings, but we keep a variety of stoppers on hand that impede the flow of living water: anxiety, panic, fear, anger, resentment, bitterness, impatience, to name a few. Yes, I was a little anxious and impatient the other day but, irregardless, the Spirit didn’t drain away. It only seemed that way for a moment.
It’s a challenge to walk through a day without popping a stopper to impede the flow of the Spirit. I have never actually met anyone who has pretended to be successful at it. We’re more likely to get off our knees, fresh from prayer, infused with enthusiasm and determination, stub a toe and scream something stupid.
My neighbor Charles has been here to check the problem with the tank. He told me what part I need to buy, and how to remove the old and install the new flapper. If I have any problems, he’ll come back to help – or at least to supervise.
Soon, I hope, the toilet is going to be fixed and the tank will hold water again. It’s a modern convenience I take for granted, until it isn’t working properly.
The Holy Spirit shows us what problems in our nature need to be corrected or eliminated. Change is a process, a lifetime journey. If we have any problems – and we will – the Holy Spirit is with us to help, guide and supervise. We should never take the Holy Spirit for granted. And when we do pop a stopper in to impede the Spirit’s flow, he will make us aware of our error, but we need to be sensitive to his leading.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
By Janice Price
If God can use my pets to teach me spiritual lessons, I shouldn’t be surprised at anything else he uses to help keep my focus on him. But I was surprised this morning to realize there is a spiritual lesson in the malfunctioning toilet tank.
The water has been turning itself on and off for a while now. It’s annoying, but who has time to spend on things that aren’t actually broken. Early the other morning I decided to take a quick look inside the tank. Big mistake. I barely touched the floating ball before it actually was floating and water was pouring out onto the bathroom floor.
I have heard you can fix or at least do a temporary emergency repair on just about anything using duct tape. This is not true and floating balls have been added to my list of duct tape failures.
I turned off the water and tried to contact my landlord, or my brother, or anyone with two hands and a pair of galoshes. I reached someone who said she could fix it later in the day. She replaced all the innards except the flapper ball and tested it.
Later I heard water running again, so yesterday morning I left another message on my brother’s answering machine. He suggested the flapper might need replacing or merely a cleaning since gritty dirt had recently gotten into my tap water and also into the toilet tank. I cleaned the dirt out of the tank. It still turned on and off at intervals.
Early this morning I lifted the tank lid to check the water level and stared in disbelief. The tank was empty. Where did the water go?
A neighbor tells me the flapper ball isn’t set right or needs replacing and I’m fortunate the new part isn’t working right or I would have to hock my landlord’s house to pay the next water bill. (If you’re interested in how a toilet works, there’s a toilet flushing demonstration at http://home.howstuffworks.com/toilet1.htm )
As I was reading the Bible this morning, I realized the where-did-the-water-go feeling was familiar. It’s the same stomach-dropping sensation as where-did-the Spirit-go? I’m sure most of you are familiar with it. You read the Bible, meditate on it, pray, rise for the day all enthused and feeling ready to take on the world, but before you can leave the house, you’re kicking the dog (not literally!) or scaring the children.
For example, Tuesday I rose at 5 a.m., took out the dogs, and spent time with God in prayer and study. Refreshed, I proceeded to finish my routine so I could be somewhere at 8:30. Then the toilet broke and my routine flew out the window, shattering the glass. I was in a tizzy, trying to find someone to help me later in the day, getting washed and dressed, feeding the animals and accomplishing a host of little things that eat into the morning, and trying to be almost on time for my appointment.
Every way I turned, I was tripping over an animal, most often one named Buddy. First, they heard, “Get out of my way.” Soon it was, "Get out of my way," in a louder, more forceful tone. And in no time at all, it was a screeching, "GET OUT OF MY WAAAAAY!" Where did the calm, refreshed, spiritual-minded Jan go?
Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as "rivers of living water." So why would it seem as if the water suddenly stops flowing, even temporarily, and drains away, much like the water in the tank is doing at this very moment. The Spirit doesn’t enter through a hole in our heads and drain through a hole in our feet when we’re bad or when we don’t feel his presence.
We are to walk by faith, not by feelings, but we keep a variety of stoppers on hand that impede the flow of living water: anxiety, panic, fear, anger, resentment, bitterness, impatience, to name a few. Yes, I was a little anxious and impatient the other day but, irregardless, the Spirit didn’t drain away. It only seemed that way for a moment.
It’s a challenge to walk through a day without popping a stopper to impede the flow of the Spirit. I have never actually met anyone who has pretended to be successful at it. We’re more likely to get off our knees, fresh from prayer, infused with enthusiasm and determination, stub a toe and scream something stupid.
My neighbor Charles has been here to check the problem with the tank. He told me what part I need to buy, and how to remove the old and install the new flapper. If I have any problems, he’ll come back to help – or at least to supervise.
Soon, I hope, the toilet is going to be fixed and the tank will hold water again. It’s a modern convenience I take for granted, until it isn’t working properly.
The Holy Spirit shows us what problems in our nature need to be corrected or eliminated. Change is a process, a lifetime journey. If we have any problems – and we will – the Holy Spirit is with us to help, guide and supervise. We should never take the Holy Spirit for granted. And when we do pop a stopper in to impede the Spirit’s flow, he will make us aware of our error, but we need to be sensitive to his leading.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
Thursday, June 23, 2005
SMILE, IT'S AN OOPS DAY
Smile, It's An Oops Day
by Janice Price
I have heard horror stories about cell phone bills, but yesterday I received the phone bill from hell and I don’t even have a cell phone. Generally, I can add basic service to the long distance calls I keep track of, plus whatever other charges they hide in the tiny print every month, and have a general estimate of my phone bill.
Last month I switched from Internet Dial-up to DSL. Since I have telephone service, long distance and Internet service with the same company, I can get a year of DSL at the same rate as what I have been paying for Dial-up. The deal was just too good to be true.
“The only extra charge you will have on your next phone bill is $10 for shipping the modem,” the representative assured me.
My hands were shaking as I dialed Customer Service yesterday. I’ll give you the abbreviated version. The call actually lasted over an hour.
“The phone bill is correct,” Deanna told me, after rattling off a number of reasons why I was out of order to question it.
“The phone bill is not correct,” I insisted, first to her and then to her supervisor Melissa. “I don’t know where you are getting your figures, but there is no way my phone service, DSL, modem shipping charge, and long distance calls can more than double my regular phone bill.”
“But you’re not being billed the full amount. You have credits.”
“But credits are supposed to lower your bill, not increase it.”
Melissa started over again. “There’s the $35 charge for your dial tone -”
I interrupted her. “You’re charging me for a dial tone now?” She was referring to the basic telephone service part of the bill, but this was the general tone of the conversation. Although we were discussing the same bill, her computer screen obviously didn’t match my statement and neither of us understood where the other was finding her figures. And I was searching the statement with a magnifying glass.
“Actually, I’m not looking at a screen,” Melissa admitted. She was distracted by the confusing conversation and locked herself out of her computer. She was “winging” it.
Once she was able to access a copy of my actual bill, she began to go through it line by line. May I never see a bill so confusing again! I would never have followed that bill on my own. In my mind, it was simple: add basic rate to DSL, long distance, $10 shipping and other charges, factor in pro-rated DSL for the prior billing cycle, and arrive at $x. Then deduct the $30 credit for a referral.
But we started on page 3, halfway down the page. On page 4, we got to the really fun part. If you add this line on page 4 to that line on page 3, you come up with $a. Then you add the next two lines to get $b, and go back to page 3 to pick up where they are listed in a totally unrelated column and then go down to the next section to deduct $c and $d to get $e.
“Where did that come from? I was told DSL would cost $f and the regular price is $g”
“But if you didn’t have our phone service, you would have to pay $h. They bill you for $h, then subtract $30 from $h to arrive at $f. Then if you go down to the next section, you have the $30 referral credit.”
“But it isn’t included in the credit total,” I protested.
“That’s because the representative who wrote your DSL order forgot to cancel your Internet service and you have been charged for one month and 21 days of DSL plus Dial-up. It’s a good thing you called us because you’re being overbilled.”
Once we passed this point, Melissa and I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. She corrected the bill.
This conversation is a good example of why God gave us a sense of humor. I sure needed one yesterday. A couple of hours later I was sending an email message to make an apology of my own, grateful I had not lost my temper over someone else’s mistake.
“This is one of those embarrassing moments of life. After the meeting the other night I rushed to download the pictures from the digital camera, write a quick couple of lines and send the local paper a community announcement. Might I add it was a long day and after 11 p.m. before I finished? (Just in case that makes any difference.) Anyway, I picked out a photo, then decided I should use one with the group’s president in it. I used a quote from her, designating her as the one on the left. Today I opened the paper and my first thought was, where did Iris go? You guessed it! I emailed the wrong photo, the first photo I had picked - without Iris!
Fortunately, Iris has a sense of humor. She is just happy the group got some publicity. I have already apologized to her because I know folks are going to be calling her to ask why she looks so much like her husband from the back. And, Renate, I apologize to you and Debbie because I know readers are going to think the mistake is the newspaper’s.”
Life gives us many opportunities to be on both ends of the apology. Can you accept an apology, in some cases seeing the humor of the situation? Can you proffer an apology when necessary?
If you’re having an oops day, smile. There is probably humor in it somewhere. I admit I haven’t always been able to find humor in such situations, but God is working with me. Things that used to anger me now sometimes tickle my funny bone. And unless you’ve had yours surgically removed, you have one too. Let life tickle it more often. It’s good for your health and also for your spirit.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
by Janice Price
I have heard horror stories about cell phone bills, but yesterday I received the phone bill from hell and I don’t even have a cell phone. Generally, I can add basic service to the long distance calls I keep track of, plus whatever other charges they hide in the tiny print every month, and have a general estimate of my phone bill.
Last month I switched from Internet Dial-up to DSL. Since I have telephone service, long distance and Internet service with the same company, I can get a year of DSL at the same rate as what I have been paying for Dial-up. The deal was just too good to be true.
“The only extra charge you will have on your next phone bill is $10 for shipping the modem,” the representative assured me.
My hands were shaking as I dialed Customer Service yesterday. I’ll give you the abbreviated version. The call actually lasted over an hour.
“The phone bill is correct,” Deanna told me, after rattling off a number of reasons why I was out of order to question it.
“The phone bill is not correct,” I insisted, first to her and then to her supervisor Melissa. “I don’t know where you are getting your figures, but there is no way my phone service, DSL, modem shipping charge, and long distance calls can more than double my regular phone bill.”
“But you’re not being billed the full amount. You have credits.”
“But credits are supposed to lower your bill, not increase it.”
Melissa started over again. “There’s the $35 charge for your dial tone -”
I interrupted her. “You’re charging me for a dial tone now?” She was referring to the basic telephone service part of the bill, but this was the general tone of the conversation. Although we were discussing the same bill, her computer screen obviously didn’t match my statement and neither of us understood where the other was finding her figures. And I was searching the statement with a magnifying glass.
“Actually, I’m not looking at a screen,” Melissa admitted. She was distracted by the confusing conversation and locked herself out of her computer. She was “winging” it.
Once she was able to access a copy of my actual bill, she began to go through it line by line. May I never see a bill so confusing again! I would never have followed that bill on my own. In my mind, it was simple: add basic rate to DSL, long distance, $10 shipping and other charges, factor in pro-rated DSL for the prior billing cycle, and arrive at $x. Then deduct the $30 credit for a referral.
But we started on page 3, halfway down the page. On page 4, we got to the really fun part. If you add this line on page 4 to that line on page 3, you come up with $a. Then you add the next two lines to get $b, and go back to page 3 to pick up where they are listed in a totally unrelated column and then go down to the next section to deduct $c and $d to get $e.
“Where did that come from? I was told DSL would cost $f and the regular price is $g”
“But if you didn’t have our phone service, you would have to pay $h. They bill you for $h, then subtract $30 from $h to arrive at $f. Then if you go down to the next section, you have the $30 referral credit.”
“But it isn’t included in the credit total,” I protested.
“That’s because the representative who wrote your DSL order forgot to cancel your Internet service and you have been charged for one month and 21 days of DSL plus Dial-up. It’s a good thing you called us because you’re being overbilled.”
Once we passed this point, Melissa and I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. She corrected the bill.
This conversation is a good example of why God gave us a sense of humor. I sure needed one yesterday. A couple of hours later I was sending an email message to make an apology of my own, grateful I had not lost my temper over someone else’s mistake.
“This is one of those embarrassing moments of life. After the meeting the other night I rushed to download the pictures from the digital camera, write a quick couple of lines and send the local paper a community announcement. Might I add it was a long day and after 11 p.m. before I finished? (Just in case that makes any difference.) Anyway, I picked out a photo, then decided I should use one with the group’s president in it. I used a quote from her, designating her as the one on the left. Today I opened the paper and my first thought was, where did Iris go? You guessed it! I emailed the wrong photo, the first photo I had picked - without Iris!
Fortunately, Iris has a sense of humor. She is just happy the group got some publicity. I have already apologized to her because I know folks are going to be calling her to ask why she looks so much like her husband from the back. And, Renate, I apologize to you and Debbie because I know readers are going to think the mistake is the newspaper’s.”
Life gives us many opportunities to be on both ends of the apology. Can you accept an apology, in some cases seeing the humor of the situation? Can you proffer an apology when necessary?
If you’re having an oops day, smile. There is probably humor in it somewhere. I admit I haven’t always been able to find humor in such situations, but God is working with me. Things that used to anger me now sometimes tickle my funny bone. And unless you’ve had yours surgically removed, you have one too. Let life tickle it more often. It’s good for your health and also for your spirit.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
Thursday, June 16, 2005
ASHLEY AND THE RUNAWAY BRIDE
Ashley and the Runaway Bride
by Janice Price
According to this morning’s newspaper headline, the woman dubbed the "runaway bride" by an overzealous news media has signed with a multimedia company to peddle her "compelling" life story as a movie. NBC’s Katie Couric has already interviewed the "bride" for national television. TV movie rights are being pitched for $500,000. A book deal will undoubtedly be announced shortly. This woman has found fame and soon she will have wealth, but neither will bring her peace of mind or happiness.
This woman abandoned her intended husband on the eve of their wedding. She caused her family untold anguish, cost taxpayers many thousands of dollars in search costs, and admitted to committing a crime by lying to law enforcement about being abducted and taken out of state against her will. She has pleaded no contest to the charge and repaid one county a token of what it spent searching for her. The other counties – and local merchants who lost sales revenue during the media stampede - are having to eat their losses.
Her story is lengthy and includes two good-sized photographs.
On page F1 is a tiny photo and a shorter article on Ashley Smith’s soon to be published story, Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero.
Ashley endured several hours as a hostage of a man on trial for violent rape. This man allegedly escaped the courthouse leaving one guard in serious condition, his trial judge and court reporter dead, one deputy dead in the street, two owners of hijacked vehicles injured, and a federal agent dead in a home he was building. She knew who the suspect was. His picture and story ran all day on the television.
How did she survive to tell her story? Although she was frightened, she remained calm and read portions of Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life to the suspect. She gained his trust by sharing her life, including the loss of her husband and her love for her child, and her faith with him.
Ashley is uncomfortable to be in the limelight because of circumstances that ended in tragedy for others. She says the reason she is telling her story is because she believes God is leading her to share her Christian faith to inspire others to turn their lives around.
Two different stories, with two similar fame and fortune outcomes, but which gets the best press coverage? The one which involves an acknowledged crime and includes a celebrity television interviewer in the publicity photographs.
But as for Ashley, the hostage who helped police capture a suspect without further violence or loss of life, she intends to donate a portion of her profits to a memorial fund she is establishing for the shooting victims. Out of the ashes of tragedy she is finding Godly purpose and direction for her life.
One is the type of story society considers newsworthy and the other is a news story of faith in action.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
by Janice Price
According to this morning’s newspaper headline, the woman dubbed the "runaway bride" by an overzealous news media has signed with a multimedia company to peddle her "compelling" life story as a movie. NBC’s Katie Couric has already interviewed the "bride" for national television. TV movie rights are being pitched for $500,000. A book deal will undoubtedly be announced shortly. This woman has found fame and soon she will have wealth, but neither will bring her peace of mind or happiness.
This woman abandoned her intended husband on the eve of their wedding. She caused her family untold anguish, cost taxpayers many thousands of dollars in search costs, and admitted to committing a crime by lying to law enforcement about being abducted and taken out of state against her will. She has pleaded no contest to the charge and repaid one county a token of what it spent searching for her. The other counties – and local merchants who lost sales revenue during the media stampede - are having to eat their losses.
Her story is lengthy and includes two good-sized photographs.
On page F1 is a tiny photo and a shorter article on Ashley Smith’s soon to be published story, Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero.
Ashley endured several hours as a hostage of a man on trial for violent rape. This man allegedly escaped the courthouse leaving one guard in serious condition, his trial judge and court reporter dead, one deputy dead in the street, two owners of hijacked vehicles injured, and a federal agent dead in a home he was building. She knew who the suspect was. His picture and story ran all day on the television.
How did she survive to tell her story? Although she was frightened, she remained calm and read portions of Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life to the suspect. She gained his trust by sharing her life, including the loss of her husband and her love for her child, and her faith with him.
Ashley is uncomfortable to be in the limelight because of circumstances that ended in tragedy for others. She says the reason she is telling her story is because she believes God is leading her to share her Christian faith to inspire others to turn their lives around.
Two different stories, with two similar fame and fortune outcomes, but which gets the best press coverage? The one which involves an acknowledged crime and includes a celebrity television interviewer in the publicity photographs.
But as for Ashley, the hostage who helped police capture a suspect without further violence or loss of life, she intends to donate a portion of her profits to a memorial fund she is establishing for the shooting victims. Out of the ashes of tragedy she is finding Godly purpose and direction for her life.
One is the type of story society considers newsworthy and the other is a news story of faith in action.
© 2005 Janice Price
mercyandpercy@yahoo.com
www.mercyandpercy.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)