Flossing

ByHal Hammons

I hope Dr. Naumann, my childhood dentist, is reading this somewhere.  For the first time … ever, probably, I purchased dental floss.  And I am actually using it.  On my teeth.  I’m not consistent, but I do it.  In fact, I have fibers of mango wedged between my lower incisors right now, and I can’t wait to get home and dig for them.

Going 52 years without a cavity has made me somewhat dismissive of the dental health advice I have gotten.  Clearly I’m doing something right, and that something has not involved flossing.  (Kids, I am not a professional — and for all but two of you, I’m not your dad.  If your parents are telling you to floss, you floss.)

But I have to admit, sometimes flossing makes a difference.  Having a single shred of steak or piece of popcorn bran wedged in there can be extremely distracting.  If I can dislodge and remove it, why wouldn’t I?

For me, it’s all about being open to new ways of doing things.  Getting from a good place to a better place.  The contentment we find in Jesus (Philippians 4:12) is not about settling for less than you might find.  It is about appreciating the blessings God has sent your way while you explore new and more effective ways to use them to His glory.

If I am forced to accept a less effective approach to service, so be it.  But if I can find a better way with a little effort, why not try that?  There is a decent chance that mango fiber will move if I try to make it move.

 

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Kolaches and the body of Christ

ByHal Hammons

I love my life in Florida.  But I must say, trips back to Texas remind me of what I have left behind.  Bluebonnets in March, and prickly pear flowers in May.  Beef brisket barbecue so good that is actually better without sauce.  Two dozen varieties of peppers in your local grocery store.  Mexican food that is worth eating.

 But one of the least-appreciated Texas delights is a pastry called a kolache.

Steam

ByHal Hammons

As I left the house this morning, I saw a strange thing.  I saw steam rising up from the roof of two houses across the street from me.  Nowhere else.  Now, I remember enough about high school chemistry to know steam is water in gaseous form; it is normal on hot afternoons after a rain for steam to come up from the asphalt as the heat of the surface essentially boils the water that hits it.  But this was morning time — warm, but not unbearably hot.  And it was just the two houses, as far as I could tell.  (I’m virtually certain the houses were not on fire, in case you were wondering.  The thought did cross my mind, though.)

Biscuits

ByHal Hammons

In the latest installment of This Week on Facebook, I present a meme: “Just imagine how great life would be if biscuits and gravy made you skinny.”

       Well, sure.  But why stop there?  Let’s wish that video games increased our intelligence, or alcohol improved our driving, or pornography strengthened our marriages.  The only difference is, I’ve heard people actually argue the last three.  Not even kidding.

Here’s the report from planet earth, though: Good choices are frequently painful choices, and indulgent choices are rarely good choices.  I am no stoic, but I must decry the rampant hedonism in our culture that has been sold to us as a tonic for what ails us.

Medicine tastes bad.  Exercise hurts.  Work wears you out.  And yes, tragically, healthy food is less appetizing than fattening, artery-clogging food.  Frankly, we should be highly suspicious when someone tries to tell us different.

But we do have a tendency to believe “information” that supports our indulgences.  Most of my brethren who have tried to get around the clear teaching of Matthew 19:6 and Matthew 19:9, for instance, have a divorce and remarriage situation very close to home.  The truth does not always hurt, granted; however, it doesn’t become less truthful when it does hurt.

God’s word is truth (John 17:17).  Our current understanding of it may or may not be truth.  We owe it to ourselves to be honest — painfully honest.  If it means giving up a tasty morsel or two, so be it.

 

Eagle vs. Fox: The war for our souls

ByHal Hammons

Wildlife photographer Kevin Ebi captured a series of photographs, one of which is included here, depicting an epic struggle between a bald eagle and a young red fox over a rabbit they both wanted for themselves.  The eagle, obviously far more powerful, was determined to have the rabbit.  But the fox would not give up.  Ultimately, though, it had to; it let go and dropped about 20 feet to the ground below, emerging unharmed.

Imagine for a moment that you are the rabbit.  God is the eagle.  Satan is the fox.  And don’t push the metaphor too far; God isn’t going to eat you for dinner, for instance.  Just go with it.