Marbles and Jokers is one of our favorite games.  Dave and I were introduced to it a few years ago and immediately became fans.  Since that time, most of the couples whom we taught to play have ordered the game for themselves and for their adult children.

Months ago, we had two couples over for dinner and taught them the game.  The following morning, one pair ordered the game for themselves.  We play marathon M&J every chance we can.

Today, while talking to my friend, Lael, a fellow M&J player, I shared with her that wonderful things seem to happen over dinner and that game.  She asked how many people had bought the game because of us.  I said about 30.  But then she asked me a question that made me realize the opportunity I was missing.

“Can you imagine sharing Jesus with 30 people over the course of the last few years?”  Granted, most of the people who have played this game with us are Christians, but some aren’t, and even though they know where we stand, why haven’t I been as determined to tell them about Heaven as I have been about teaching them a competitive game? Too, could Marbles and Jokers be the tool I use to do so?  Why do I make witnessing so difficult?

Finding the way to Christ is simple, and the “Romans Road”—seven scriptures in the Book of Romans—is a great path to get there.

3:10—There is no righteous person.

3:23—Everyone sins and comes short of the glory of God.

5:12—Sin (and death) entered the world through Adam’s sin; that death was passed to all of us.

6:23—Sin leads to death, but God gives the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

5:8—God covered our sins by his son, Jesus’, death.

10:13— Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

10:9-10 (NLT) “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

And yes, I understand that, unless the Holy Spirit inspires me, I would not share those seven scriptures with a non-believer I had invited over to play a game (not even if they were winning and I wanted them to go home).

There are simpler ways to witness. Our example, for…well, example.  This school year, I have had many opportunities to pray for faculty and students.  Sometimes, it is as simple as hearing their problems and asking how I can pray for them.  Other times, I drop them a note to tell them what a blessing they are to me or simply to encourage them, reminding them that God hears our prayers.

I have had deep conversations with students who were wounded by their parents, reminding them that we all are sinners and that God grieves when He sees parental figures abusing their children.  I have apologized to an entire class when I showed anger instead of doling out fair consequences, telling them that as a Christian, I failed to show mercy.

Lael’s question made me realize that I was missing an incredible opportunity.  After all, losing a game is nothing compared to losing our eternal lives.

Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
Up a Creek

I have many fond memories of canoeing in Southwest Missouri during the first six years of our marriage. Jimmy and I would spend time alone or with friends/family floating the various rivers in the “Show-Me” State. These float-trip experiences varied, depending on how much rain the area had recently received. Jimmy would sit in the back of the canoe and I would be in the front. It took teamwork to navigate through the big rocks with the water gushing around them. From the back, my husband would scrutinize the situation ahead and say, “Go right,” etc. Although I couldn’t see him, I knew he was back there giving proper directions and doing his part to get us through safely.

As a country girl, I drank water from the hose, licked the new part of a salt block, ran barefooted on gravel, ate pickled pig’s feet, and drank cold well water from Aunt Pauline’s community dipper. I’d say I had a pretty strong constitution. Part of canoeing involves eating snacks along the way and my favorite was Vienna sausages (where I come from it’s pronounced VI-eenie). Once, with friends Leon and Linda floating behind us, I pulled out my can, opened it and, one by one, I would hold the tasty treat down in the river to rinse off the gelatin before I ate it. Leon was completely flabbergasted and, with eyes the size of saucers, said, “Don’t you know there’s cattle upstream?!”

There are times when believers feel like we’re up a creek without a paddle. But that’s never true. We’re to live by faith, not by our fickle feelings. We can’t trust feelings because they’re up one day and down the next — but we can always trust God and choose to hope. “God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NIV). God’s not fickle. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever – so that means He’s always with us, even when the lying devil tempts us to think we’re all alone.

Sometimes, when there’s a storm brewing and headed our way, we may feel like we’re up a creek without a paddle. But that’s when we simply hold on and trust Jesus to put His hands over ours as we keep paddling along. We can’t see Him but we know He’s doing His part. When we give Him the right of way, Jesus will get us safely through the storm. No one is going to capsize, lose everything, and drown on His watch. No sir!

“Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support” (Isaiah 41:10 BBE). So, when you’re in trouble, don’t throw away your paddle! Once on a float trip with our church group, one of the guys got so angry (because he and his wife had to pick up their canoe and carry it a lot) he threw his paddle onto the rocks! It was kinda’ like when Moses smashed the first set of Ten Commandments. We have to give God something to work with – don’t throw in the paddle – don’t give up!

Canoeing is comparable to our journey of life. Some parts of the river are smooth and relaxing and some are rough and nerve-racking. No matter the circumstances, Jesus is with us. “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). Jesus will be with His followers to the end of “their” age and then throughout all eternity. Although I’ve got rhythm, I never learned to dance or do cartwheels, but this red-letter scripture promise makes me want to do both!

The Key: Believers need to keep their chin up and keep paddling. It’ll be worth it.

Have you ever been called to “love the unlovely”?  You know, like Jesus did.  I recently realized how hard that really is…not because I can’t love the unlovely but because sometimes they don’t love me.  People I know have been disappointed in me, and my Christian character has been ridiculed.  Compared to how I felt when a dear friend said that I didn’t mask my double-chin well when I delivered my Tedx Talk or how another addressed my unflattering outfit or when someone shared that I overdid my makeup at my book signing, and I bet you know which hurt worse.

Yep, when my Christian character was maligned.

I want desperately to please God.  I do.  I want people to see in me a joy, a peace, a freedom, so infectious that they ask my secret.  That doesn’t always happen.

Today was the exception.  A sweet, young waitress told me that I make a difference in her life, that every time she waits on me, she feels that she has someone in her corner.  Her grandparents and father are deceased, and her mother is an addict.  She, a divorcee, has young children and struggles being a good mother, but, she said, she believes that I care.  She is right.  From the first time she waited on me, I knew there was something in her I admired.

She is lovely, personable, hard-working and determined to give her children a better life.  She asked if we could exchange phone numbers.  Of course we could, and we did.  She explained that she wants to leave her present job and move into something more fulfilling, something that would provide better for her kids.  I assured her that I would try and make that happen.

Then she said something I did not expect.  “I am pregnant.”  She spoke about how amazing the father is, how he treats her well, but how she knows things now are more complicated in her hunt for a new job.  I couldn’t help but think, “Would Jesus call this complicated?”  Absolutely not.  He loved everyone, even those who think they disappoint. No story reflected that better than when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well.

According to John 4:1-42, she, the lowest of the low, an unmarried female of a race despised by Jews, meets Jesus on his way to Galilee.  His disciples are in town buying food when Jesus asks this woman, coming to draw water from the well, for a drink. In that era, women drew water in groups in the morning, but this outcast drew water alone midday.

The Samaritan woman questions how this man can ask her, a woman, for a drink.  Jesus’ responses confound her as he explains that he offers “living water,” the kind that leads to eternal life, to everyone. The dialogue continues until Jesus switches gears and reveals that she has been married five times and is not married to her current affair.  Still, he offers her a chance. She then gets it: she who has disappointed for as long as she can remember is talking to the Messiah.  And he’s not disappointed.

When this woman believed, she immediately ran off to tell others. Her words made an impact. As Scripture tells us, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.”

Loving the unlovely is Jesus’ way.  My job is to love those who don’t love me, those who judge me or criticize me, to see them as Jesus does, so they can know him too.

Along the way, I hope I don’t disappoint.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Three Nails and Three Days

Countless hymns and songs have been composed regarding the account of Jesus’ crucifixion, tender burial, and miraculous resurrection. Although I can’t remember one message I’ve heard on Resurrection Sunday (that’s not to say they weren’t good) I certainly remember the hymns and songs. Music has always greatly impacted me – it’s simply the way I was created by my Maker. One day, I stumbled across a YouTube video featuring Dolly Parton singing “He’s Alive.” Written by Don Francisco, this song has been performed by numerous recording artists. We can only imagine those three days when Jesus was on trial, scourged, nailed to the cross, was buried, and rose again. Thankfully, once in awhile a songwriter and vocalist will team up and present a song that will ignite and fervently burn its message into our hearts.

Biblical Greek scholars and historians agree that death by crucifixion was one of the cruelest and most barbaric forms of punishment. Josephus, the Jewish historian, described crucifixion as “the most wretched of deaths.” The grueling act of crucifixion was entirely in the hands of the Roman authorities and was reserved for the most-serious offenders. (And we know Jesus was innocent.) This type of death was the most humiliating, debasing, shameful, and painful method. During the scourging, Jesus’ flesh was ripped to shreds and His body was bruised from head to toe. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. At the cross a Roman soldier drove a five-inch iron nail through each of His wrists into the crossbeam. Then a long nail was driven between the bones of His feet. Jesus’ precious blood streamed from His head, hands,  feet, and side, and from the cuts and gaping wounds caused by the scourging.

Believers should reverently take time to ponder what Jesus went through because we never want to treat our salvation cheaply. We mustn’t overlook the high price Jesus paid on the cross for the whole world (John 3:16). Because of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, we can celebrate every day knowing that Sunday’s on the way! As followers of Christ, our hope is built on the firm foundation of Jesus’ powerful and miraculous resurrection. He’s alive! He’s no longer in the garden tomb! The lost world needed a risen Savior and that’s exactly what we got! Joseph of Arimathea had no idea that Jesus would only borrow his tomb for the weekend.

After witnessing Jesus’ horrific circumstances, the grieving Mary Magdalene approached the tomb. When she and Jesus spoke by the garden tomb very early that first resurrection morning, we can only imagine her rapturous joy when she finally realized who He was! It was more glorious than when Jesus had previously cast the seven tormenting demons out of her! King Jesus didn’t waste any time giving Mary Magdalene a most-important assignment.

“Don’t cling to Me,”Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find My brothers [disciples] and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God’” (John 20:17 NLT). Mary Magdalene quickly found the disciples and excitedly told them,”I have seen the Lord!” Then she delivered Jesus’ message to them.

Earlier in the Book of John, Jesus prophetically spoke to the Jewish leaders about His upcoming crucifixion and resurrection. “Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19 WBT). They did and He did.

The Key: Three nails and three days changed everything.

Thirty years ago, I was not frazzled easily. Perhaps because I had survived the ordeal of raising three A.D.D. sons without any criminal repercussions. Perhaps because I had learned to relax as a teacher and enjoy my students, or perhaps because I was finally figuring out the difference between religion and a relationship with Christ. What I deal with now is nothing compared to those challenges, so I have no idea why at this age I get frazzled so easily. Still, the list of things that frustrate me is endless. For example:

• Delayed Amazon deliveries
• A slow internet speed
• Passwords and QR codes
• Fast-food restaurants that use kiosks
• Pinterest ideas that appear impossible to mess up…until I try them
• Stop lights that stay red when no one is coming from the opposite direction

The list above includes modern inventions that are intended to make our lives easier, yet when they fail to do so, I become frustrated instead of being thankful for the times they do work. Why is that? In Luke 17:11-17, we read of 10 outcast lepers who were healed by Jesus. Lepers were no small deal (like my list above). They were considered permanently unclean, so they could not worship in the temple. They could not hang with their families and were cut off from society. They would gladly have changed places with me, complaining about such trivial things as my list above. Jesus curing them was no minor miracle.

Still, only one leper thanked him, and in no insignificant way. That leper fell at Jesus’ feet and loudly praised him for this miracle. Jesus questioned why the other nine just went on their merry way while only this one stayed behind to show gratitude. “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Questions asked in Luke 17:17,18. Being thankful was important to Jesus.

Typically, I love thanking people and look for ways to do so. Still, I need to do a better job of thanking God. Take this morning, for example. I had countless reasons for which to be grateful: life itself; opportunities to pray; a phone call from one of our children; a car that started; great friends; inspirational, Christian Instagram posts; Kleenex (allergies); and short lines at the post office. The list was endless, but only now, while writing this, am I thanking God.

In the Bible, the word “thanks” or “Thanksgiving” appears over 100 times, and no season reminds me of the need to show gratitude more than Easter. Without the Resurrection, we would be hopeless. The Bible would be just another history book, Christianity would be pointless, and none of us would have a chance to spend eternity with Jesus.

The next time I’m frustrated because my internet is weak or my Pinterest macaroons look more like a blackened pizza crust or I spend 15 minutes pushing the wrong buttons, trying to order an Egg McMuffin, I need to remember what’s truly important. Actually, I need to remember Who is the most important…and maybe fall at His feet when I do.

That’s what Easter is all about.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Bad Coffee

When I was in high school, I worked in the kitchen at the Holliday Restaurant in Stockton. The owner would often ask me if I’d like a cup of coffee. I’d thank him and respond, “I don’t drink coffee.” This same conversation occurred over and over and over. Finally, one day Vaughn told me, “Well, whenever you decide to drink coffee, learn to drink it black.” I stored that in the back of my mind and eventually began to drink coffee. (After all, I couldn’t convince anyone that I belonged to the Montgomery/Jennings family if I didn’t drink coffee!) Later, through the years, I switched to drinking coffee with “num-nums” in it. That’s hillbilly for the following ingredients: heavy whipping cream and pure maple syrup, or homemade chocolate satin sauce. I simply flipped around Vaughn’s advice because, if the coffee is bad, I can fix it with yummy additives.

I have a coffee mug that has “Life is too Short for Bad Coffee” imprinted on it. We can take that quote and run 100 miles with it. For example, “Life is too short for bad company, bad living, bad attitudes, and bad breath.” And I would take it a step further and add that life is too short to consume rice cakes, unsweetened tea, chicken gizzards, and raw fish. Those things are just not right!

Life is certainly too short to spend it foolishly. God’s Word reminds us of the brevity of our lives. Moses penned a prayer in Psalm 90:5,6,12 NLT: “You [God] sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” We don’t want to spin the tires of our life going nowhere.

“You [God] turn people back to dust, saying, ‘Return to dust, you mortals!’ For You, a thousand years are as a passing day” (Psalm 90:3-4 NLT). God’s timetable and ours is not the same and it’s difficult to wrap our heads around that fact. It’s a fact that life is quickly passing by and we truly don’t have time to waste. We should treat each day as a precious treasure. We shouldn’t procrastinate on achieving the God-given dreams and goals we have for our lives. I grew up with the motto, “Don’t put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do today.” Whoever said that first was a wise person. (I think it was my mom.)

Now is the time to move forward and do what you need to do, whatever that is for you. In regard to eternity, every day we should be preparing to die. There’s no guarantee of tomorrow, so all we really have is today. Apostle Paul gave wise advice, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:3 NKJV). We should not dismiss the opportunity that today affords. Pick up the phone and make that apology, write the letter, forgive, pay back what you borrowed 12 years ago, read the book, write the book, etc. Life is a beautiful experience but it’s surprisingly brief. Time waits for no one.

There is an urgency for doing the right thing now – today. We all have a window of opportunity and we don’t know when that window will close forever. Life is too short for unforgiveness, jealousy, hatred, bickering, disunity, and complaining. As long as we’re breathing, it’s not too late to do the right thing. Ready or not, the aging process will catch up with you and you better have your “house in order” (2 Kings 20:1). Don’t just talk about the things you want/need to do – do ‘em now. Now is the time.

The Key: Aging isn’t a choice like black coffee or coffee with num-nums. However, where you spend eternity is a choice: smoking or nonsmoking.

“The amount of good things in your life depends on your ability to notice them.” Anonymous

In the theater classes I teach, we are working on a new Improvisational Acting activity. The students line up across the front of the room, and starting with Student #1, he/she starts a sentence with “Fortunately.” “Fortunately, I passed Calculus.” “Fortunately, I just bought my first car.” “Fortunately, I’m not grounded this week.” Whatever comes to mind.

Then the next student starts a sentence with “Unfortunately” and must choose a sentence that counters whatever Student #1 has said. “Unfortunately, passing that one test did not bring my grade to passing.” “Unfortunately, the engine caught fire the first day I drove it.” “Unfortunately, I’m only ungrounded to babysit my little brother and sister.”

Student #3 must add to the story, this time with a “Fortunately.” On it goes until we go through the line a couple of times.

There are two reasons I chose this activity: (1) It teaches students Improvisational skills like keeping dialogue going and thinking on their feet, and (2) They are forced to consider both sides, especially the positive one (which seems more difficult for them).

This started when I began noticing far too much negative thinking as my students answered a Roll Call question. Last Tuesday was a perfect example. “What is the best thing about living in America?” was the question (a far different one from the usual, “What’s your favorite dessert?”). Most students couldn’t think of anything, and those who did, answered with, “Well, it certainly isn’t the government” or “Maybe chocolate?” or “Absolutely nothing.”

I took a few seconds to respond. “Nothing? I’m confused. You are sitting in a desk, getting an education paid for by other people. Did any of you sleep in a cardboard box in an alleyway last night? None of you are starving, and if you are, you know where to find snacks in my desk drawer. Clearly, you all have clothes on. You girls will be allowed to drive and get a job, choose your own husband and speak your mind. You all can protest peacefully if you want something changed, and you say, “Absolutely nothing?”

No one responded.

Since Covid, there has been an increasing sense of hopelessness and negativity. Even my students who attend a weekly church group exhibit a pessimism I did not see when I taught 13 years ago. I have to remind them to say “thank you” when I hand them a pencil or a brownie, and if I don’t, I wait for one of them to thank me and then announce to the whole class, “Thank you, “Roni,” for saying thank you.

In the Old Testament, we read that Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet,” watched as his nation, Israel, deteriorated. They were captured, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and he felt hopeless. Sometimes, I feel like weeping over the state of our country, and especially the mess we are handing off to our children and grandchildren. I remind myself that God has a plan. In spite of our sinful nature, He offers us a way out. And do we deserve it?

Absolutely not. If there is anything we need to notice, that truth alone should negate our pessimism.