STRANDED IN SKIN AND BONES

http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/video/#mea=101458

We boarded a runaway bus in front of a Hispanic Wal-Mart. We had no idea what was about to happen to us. We boarded the bus because it cost $30.00 to take a taxi from Wal-Mart versus $8.75 to take the local bus. Sure, we were the only white Caucasians on the bus. Yeah, the Hispanics stared at us and would not smile at us. Would not maintain eye-contact. Would not even look at us when we sat down on the bus. They looked tired. Looked bored. They looked as though seeing us reminds them of their poverty. Then we pulled away from the bus stop and noticed that we were the only ones sweating our glands off. They were as cool as cucumbers. Riding a hot bus was an everyday occurrence. They were used to it, but we were a minority in a majority of trouble.

In the first ten minutes of the bus ride, we stopped at least a dozen times. We’d let some off and take some aboard. It was 5:30 PM and this was the working class’ ride home. Some were dusty from masonry work they hadn’t even bothered brushing from their clothes. Some wore uniforms from the local resorts. They’d waited on spoiled and rich Americans all-day and wasn’t thrilled to have them aboard their personal lives.

So there was an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Would we be robbed? Would we be left for dead? Would we get a knife in the lung? All of these things were going through my mind as I sat amongst them on that bus. And twenty minutes into what was supposed to be a ten-mile bus ride, we thought something was up. But then again, we had been told that there were two buses that went to our resort—one a short ride, the other a rather long route.

So we figured we had taken the long way home. So to make sure we were on the right bus, my buddy, Todd, ran to the front of the bus and asked the driver, who assured him that the bus was indeed going to Paradise Village. Now he didn’t just say in six long sentences or even one short paragraph that we were going to our resort. He just said, “Se Senior.”

So my buddy, Todd took his seat, and we rode on for a few more miles. We stopped at bus stops under bridges were we could see lean-tos and abandoned cars and filthy children playing in dusty streets while the adults sat in doorways trying to catch a breeze on this sweltering day. It was near a 100°. It was as humid as Alabama. And we were getting a good education in Mexican living. We lived their day. I stared at their backpacks and wondered what type of lunches they had carried to work that day. A single banana? Some tortillas and chips?

After an hour on the bus, we believed the driver behind the wheel had gone a little mad. Where was he taking us? We left the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta behind and climbed narrow roads at what seemed a hundred miles an hour. We met dump trucks—big dump trucks. Smash you like road kill dump trucks. The deranged driver was taking the bus to the edge of drop-offs that would plunge us a hundred feet below if he made one mistake.

This is when I remembered all of the Dateline stories of Americans dying while on vacation abroad. We would become part of that list. Our bodies charred and broken by the bus’ plunge off a cliff. Then the police would stand above us on the narrow stretch of highway, look down, and think we got what we deserved. They’d say, “They saved a few pesos, but lost their lives doing it.”

Then toward the top of the mountain the deranged bus driver stopped the bus in the middle of nowhere and yelled to us at the back of the bus, “Paradise Village!” What? He wants us to get out here? He actually demanded we get out there. And this is when his lunacy—that was hiding behind a language barrier at first—reared its ugly head. This deranged bus driver set us up. He knew what he was doing all along. He knew he was going to dump us on top of this mountain. He knew it would be a long walk home—twenty miles to be exact. The guy was loco. He was crazy. He was repaying us for whatever an American stood for in his mind.

So we got off the bus and I sat on our beach bag at the side of the road. I buried my face in my hands. We would die on top of this mountain. We would never make it home alive. We’d be butchered in a field. Our bones would decompose before anyone ever found us. How would they know that a deranged bus driver had taken us to the top of a mountain and dropped us off? How would Dateline with Stone Phillips find us? How would 48 Hours Mystery solve this one? Would we be a one hour show or a two hour documentary?

We watched as he closed the doors of the bus and pulled away, leaving a plume of diesel engine smoke.

Today, we are going to talk about a time when King David went a little loco. King David lost his marbles. He had spittle in his beard. He scratched graffiti into the wooden gates of the city. He went nuts.

Let’s read the account from

1 Samuel 21:10-15

10-11 And at that, David shot out of there, running for his life from Saul. He went to Achish, king of Gath. When the servants of Achish saw him, they said, "Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances?

Saul kills by the thousand,

David by the ten thousand!"

12-15 When David realized that he had been recognized, he panicked, fearing the worst from Achish, king of Gath. So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard. Achish took one look at him and said to his servants, "Can't you see he's crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don't you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another? Get him out of here!"

This is the backdrop of Psalm 34. When David was going through this turmoil, he sat down and penned Psalm 34. And isn’t this sheer brilliance what David did? He had enough mind to lose his mind to save his hide. (repeat)

David was much like our deranged bus driver. David knew what he was doing. He faked madness to deliver a blow that would free him. And what I want to talk about today is: “How to Keep Your Sanity While Everyone Else is Losing Theirs.”

What can you do to counter the problems you face? Now I wouldn’t suggest pretending your mad, but there’s something Jesus said that I want to discuss:

Matthew 10:16

16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Troubled times always demands of us the heroic deed.

Maybe you are going through some kind of turmoil this morning. Maybe you are troubled. Maybe you are hurting for someone. Maybe you need to heroic. Maybe you need to act and be heroic.

When I got booted off the bus, I was mad and depleted. I put my beach bag on the side of the road and sat on it. Then I said, just before I buried my face into my hands, “We need a new leader.”

Now Todd and I have been friends forever. We are like brothers, and this didn’t bother him that I said it. Todd is a man of action, and he got busy trying to find a solution, because leaders don’t sit down and give-up—leaders act heroic. And what kept Todd off the curb was a heroic tendency. He directed his energy toward a solution.

I just wanted to blame and complain. And I think a lot of us fall into a state of how things should be. I should have a better leader. I should have a better job. I should have a better marriage. I should have better kids. I should have more success.

Never forget this one rule: When our attention is primarily directed to how wrong things are, we lose our power to act effectively.

So the first thing you must do in troubled times to act heroic is to:

1. Focus your energy on a solution.

Someone has once said, “Be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

While I sulked on the curb, Todd searched for a solution. There was a guard shack nearby, so he walked to it. He asked the guards for advice. They said we had two choices: 1) We could get a cab, which would cost us $200.00. So that was out. 2) We could catch another bus and ride it back into town.

And Todd had the wits about him to ask the guards to write down in Spanish a note that would tell the bus driver where we wanted to go. Remarkable wit. Under fire by a big-nosed man, sitting on his beach bag, as well as the other riders in our group, and he performed flawlessly. Why hadn’t we thought of it earlier? My friend became my leader again after he possessed written directions. I knew his solution would work, hopefully. And maybe you need to write down an action plan. Give yourself guidelines to follow to get yourself back on track.

The greatest barrier to solving a problem is not failing to come up with a solution; it is coming up with just one solution—and stopping there.

And every problem must be met with numerous solutions. How did David come up with the solution of pretending to be insane? I’m sure it wasn’t the first solution that popped into his mind. If he is anything like us, he probably thought about escaping first. Maybe running. Maybe hiding. These are our first inclinations. Hiding was the first solution to the first sin in the world. Adam and Eve hid from God after eating of the fruit of Good and Evil.

I can safely say that if your solutions have anything to do with hiding, running, or blaming others, then you haven’t explored all of your options. Now maybe David’s solution was a little deceptive. OK, it was a little over the top, but sometimes dishonesty is not a bad policy. Now I’m not talking about breaking the law or breaking someone’s trust by lying to them or betraying them. I’m only saying that dishonesty isn’t always a bad policy when your head is on the chopping block.

And right now some of you need to come up with solutions that don’t include hiding, blaming, or escaping. If you aren’t sure, then list your solutions. Then ask your solutions questions. “Am I hiding if I use you as a solution?” This will help you decide.

But what might be holding some of you back is what didn’t hold David back, and that is pride. He risked his reputation.

"Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances? Saul kills by the thousand, David by the ten thousand!"

Most of us would have never tried acting mad. We have too much pride to do something like this. We say, “What if it doesn’t work? I’ll feel like a fool.” So we talk ourselves out of the right solution because we judge the solution according to our pride. So make sure you remove pride from your problem-solving techniques. Ask yourself if pride is keeping you from coming up with the right solution.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

One of the best scenes in the movie The Pursuit of Happiness is when Will Smith’s character gets put in jail for not paying overdue parking tickets just when he seems to be getting a break to work at a Wall Street firm. Watch.

So how do you come up with a good solution? This brings us to the second thing we must do in troubled times:

2. Whatever you do when conflicts arise, be wise.

A good solution will contain a lot of wisdom. What is wisdom?

Job 11:6

6 And show you the secrets of wisdom!

For sound wisdom has two sides

Wisdom always has two-sides, and the quicker you look at both sides, the easier it will be for you to come up with a solution.

Before we got off in the middle of nowhere, Todd turned to the few riders on the bus and said, “Does anyone in here speak English?” A dude on the front row said, “A little.” During times of trouble a little can amount to a whole lot. Todd figured he could take the little and find a solution. Jesus took the five loaves of bread and a few fish and fed 5,000, so we figured we could take the dude’s “little” and find a solution. And it is so funny what he said. He looked at Todd and said, “You really need to get a taxi.”

Well, that’s one side of that solution, so we put it down as a viable option until the security guards told Todd that it would cost $200.00. And what we faced in the middle of nowhere was the decision between a taxi and catching the next bus, and we decided to wait on the next bus. Why? Because wisdom said that $200.00 was way out of our budget. So we waited.

We were up a mountain with no way down except to do what the third and last thing to do when you fall on troubled times:

3. Whenever you realize that there’s nothing you can do, wait.

After the security guard wrote down in Spanish our destination and told us it would be twenty minutes before the next bus, we settled into a long hot wait on the side of sweltering blacktop. We had to wait. We had to be patiently.

And as we did he delivered us, just like Psalm 34 says:

Psalm 34

4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

God delivered us out of all our troubles, because we heard a moan coming over the mountain. A hum, a clatter, a diesel engine, a bus. Eureka! Todd jumped to his feet and waved his arms. The bus stopped. Todd stepped aboard and handed the guy the note. The bus driver motioned for us to come aboard. We did. I sat behind a man and a woman who were making-out. They were going at. They didn’t even stop to lookup when we stepped on the bus. They were going to town, and so were we.

And when I sat down, I saw a huge cross that took up a large section of the front windshield. Jesus was still on the cross, so the guy must have been Catholic. But we didn’t care. We were all smiles. God had delivered us out of all our troubles. We felt good about this bus. At least it was going in the right direction. Then our stop came into view, and the bus did its swish of the air brakes and the door flew open. We were free. We were home. And for the life us, we will never ride another Mexican bus again.

Maybe this morning, you seem to be going in the wrong direction. Maybe you feel lost. Maybe you feel that someone is doing you wrong the way the deranged bus driver did us wrong and dropped us in the middle of nowhere. Maybe you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.

Well, let me show you a cross. Let me show you a bus that is headed in the right direction. Let me put on its air brakes and open the door. All you need is one little note to hand to the bus driver, because on that piece of paper it says, “I died for you, so that you might ride—by my grace—on this bus destined to the Promised Land.” And when we get there, you better get back out of my way, because I’m coming off, I’m coming on out of there. I’ll be home!

Check this out. I love the radio show, and the television show is playing on Showtime on demand if you care to watch.

I can’t tell you I wasn’t disappointed last week. I can’t tell you how the announcement rocked my world. I never saw it coming, and I haven’t taken it sitting down, because not too long ago Jill and I stood at Earnhardt Junior’s souvenir trailer at Talladega and purchased matching ball caps with number 8 on the front.

Jill and I were never more in love than we were at that moment. We bonded deeper into holy matrimony, as she put Earnhardt Jr.’s hat on and pulled her ponytail through the opening at the back of the hat. She was beautiful. She glowed. And next to the birth of my children, that moment when we stood at the souvenir trailer with matching hats on our heads is one of the highlights of my life.

We were in love. I actually held her hand in public, something I felt too macho to do before this moment. So, yes, I was shocked. I felt devalued as a man when Jill said she no longer felt as I did about Jr. She wasn’t disheartened about the announcement that Jr. was going over to the enemy, because this happened on Sunday. As if I wasn’t sick enough already, Jill announced that she was go over to the enemy.

Jill said, “I’m going to be a Jeff Gordon fan.”

My chin dripped to the floor. I narrowed my eyes. I said like Gary Coleman on Different Strokes, “Whatchoo talking about?”
She said, “I’m going to be a Jeff Gordon fan from now on.”

“Why in the world would you do that?” I asked.
She said, “Because he wins.”

I had no comeback for that one. She had me. Jeff Gordon has won more races than anyone this season. He can drive to Victory Lane in the dark. That’s how many times he’s been there lately.

After the race, after Jeff Gordon was blessed by God to win the rain shortened race in Pocono, during my phone call with Nana—because we talk whenever Gordon wins—And she even agreed with Nana on Sunday, during our Jeff-Gordon-wins-again-telephone-call. When Nana said of Jeff Gordon, “Well, he’s the cutest little thing on the racetrack,” Jill agreed. I declared that she was dishonorably discharged from the Red Army, from the #8 Nation.

I threw up. Then I called in sick to work.

Well, nothing much to say, other than I threw up again on Wednesday. Was physically sick all over again when Jr. crossed over to the other side and became Jeff Gordon’s teammate. He’s taken a risk. He has left the Earnhardt dynasty his father built behind.

And today, I want to talk about another rebellious kid that left the father’s dynasty and struck out on his own for greener pastures. Hopefully will discover some things about fatherhood that we haven’t known before.

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

Today I want to discuss the making of a father. What does it take to be a good father in a world like ours? Some believe it’s a monetary responsibility. They believe a father should take care of his family’s well-being. Others believe the father should be head of the household and what he says goes, and there better not be any undisciplined action in his army-like family. Others believe you should love and support your sons and daughters, no matter what.

I guess every father wishes he had a manual to go by in raising kids.

So, the question becomes:

How do you become a good father when there's no manual?

Would love to hear your answers. Post them below.

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