I discovered the shoes I was using were not fitting me. In the course of a normal workday, I walk for miles. On days when I'm fortunate and take a break to play Pickleball, I get in a lot of movement that involves being on my feet. As a result, my heels were becoming sore. My wife and I made a trip to the New Balance store located in Rogers. A knowledgeable salesman greeted us and offered to assist me. He measured my feet, looked at the wear pattern of my old shoes, and explained what was happening. He tested orthotics on me and fitted me with new running shoes. After one day of wearing the shoes, I was free of pain. Thank you, New Balance! I have happy feet and handsome shoes.
Squirrel rock is what I named the large boulder that's placed decoratively in our front yard. On top of it is a small round rock, polished to a smooth finish by countless years of rolling in a riverbed. The grandkids built a nest of leaves around it once, pretending it was an ostrich egg. Each morning I walk out to squirrel rock, make a clucking noise like a noisy squirrel, and place a handful of unshelled sunflower seeds along with some raw peanuts on top of the rock. Within a few minutes, a watchful squirrel will scramble across the yard and climb up to enjoy the feast. Before long the nuts will all be devoured, leaving nothing but shells. I figured if I could feed the birds, I could at least include the squirrels. Meanwhile the new bluebird house remains unoccupied, although a male and female pair carefully looked it over last week. They inspected it under the watchful eye of a red-headed woodpecker who, noisy like a jackhammer, was drilling for bugs on the gray bark of a nearby tree.
I'm teaching a series of classes Wednesday nights at Christian Life Cathedral, a wonderful church located on Millsap in Fayetteville. About a thousand people regularly worship with this community of believers. My Life Formation class uses Gordon Fee's scholarly book, "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth." It is fulfilling for me to teach God's word. I love the Bible! It's gratifying to sense the Holy Spirit come in among us to bear witness to the truth. I frequently tell people, "Don't take His presence for granted. He doesn't have to show up, you know."
There is a scripture in Isaiah that reads like this: "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, saying "Our God reigns!" The ultimate message of the gospel (which means "good news") is that God has established a King on the throne, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, who extends his rule on the earth using his people and their faith-filled praise and prayers. We are meant to be bearers of good news; heralds who have a positive, good word to share. The throne of God in heaven is surrounded by peace. Whenever we align our lives with God's will, the effect around us in this space-time world is peace, righteousness, and joy.
Remove negative, ugly, critical words from your mind and your mouth. Become an ambassador who is washed of past hurts and hatred. Put on Christ's beautiful shoes of peace.
-- Ron Wood is a writer and minister. Email him at [email protected] or visit www.touchedbygrace.org. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 03/04/2020