The Blustery Day - 3/02/16

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 2, 2016 issue of The Mena Star.

When they were young my children enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh movies. I’m pretty sure that they still do. One of their favorites was Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.

The movie begins with Winnie the Pooh on his way to his thoughtful spot. It is a very windy day. While Pooh is thinking, Gopher shows up and tells Pooh that he needs to leave because it is "Winds-day.” Pooh, doesn’t understand the warning, but goes through the Hundred Acre Wood wishing everyone a happy Winds-day. Pooh first visits his friend Piglet who lives in a beech tree. Piglet had gone outside to rake leaves but the wind was too strong. Piglet is almost blown away but Pooh grabs on to him by his scarf, like a kite on a string. Pooh hangs on to the scarf as Piglet is blown away. They go past Kanga and Roo, and Pooh wishes them both a happy Winds-day. Pooh ends up destroying Eeyore’s house as he struggles to hang on to Piglet in the heavy wind and is drug through the house. When the wind carries Piglet over Rabbit’s garden, Pooh inadvertently harvests the carrots as he is drug by.

The howling wind finally blows Pooh and Piglet over to Owl's tree house. Owl invites them in. Pooh wishes Owl a happy Winds-day, but Owl tells him that the wind is due to "a mild spring zephyr" and not because it is Winds-day.

A few weeks ago there was a day that I’m pretty sure was a Winds-day. At the very least it was a mild spring zephyr. The wind blew strong all day. It came from the north and had a sharp bite to it. The wind was so strong that our old shop building where my business is located creaked and groaned. As the day progressed some of the sheet metal on the roof became loose and started banging and making a horrible noise.

My Dad climbed up on a ladder to fasten the sheet metal. The ladder wasn’t on firm ground and it slipped. My Dad fell from the ladder and as he fell grabbed at the sheet metal, slicing his hand open. He wasn’t badly injured from the fall but he had to go to the doctor to have his hand sewed up. I feel very fortunate that he wasn’t hurt worse. If only I had been there to steady the ladder he wouldn’t have fallen.

In our spiritual lives God has promised to keep us from falling. The Psalmist wrote in Psalms 116:8 (NKJV), “For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.” If we ask God to steady the ladder of our life we can trust Him to keep us from falling. In fact He is the only one who can keep us from falling. In Jude 24 (CEV) the Bible tells us that “only God can keep you from falling and make you pure and joyful in his glorious presence."

Before God can keep us from falling, we have to put our trust in Him. It is fairly easy to say the words “I trust you” but it is more difficult to show by our actions that we trust someone.

Charles Blondin is considered to be one of the greatest tightrope-walkers of all time. He was the first man ever to cross Niagara Falls by tightrope. In 1860 the Prince of Wales saw Blondin cross the Niagara Falls tightrope on stilts, and again blindfolded. After that Blondin stopped halfway across and cooked and ate an omelet. Next he wheeled a wheelbarrow from one side to the other, and returned with a sack of potatoes in it. Then Blondin approached the Prince of Wales and asked, "Do you believe I could take a man across the tightrope in this wheelbarrow?" "Yes, I do", said the Prince. "Hop in", replied Blondin. The Prince declined Blondin's challenge. He might have believed Blondin could do it, but he wasn't about to trust him with his life.

When it comes to our relationship with God, this kind of trust doesn't do much good.  God doesn't want us to say "Lord I believe in you, but not enough to put my life in your hands."  Belief has to come with trust.  Proverbs 3:5,6 (NLT) tells us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart;  do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

The Prince of Wales believed that Blondin could walk a man across the tightrope in a wheelbarrow, but he didn't trust him enough to get in. Do you believe in God? Do you trust him with your life?

Gentle Reader, trust God with all your heart, and if he asks you to get in the wheelbarrow, do it! Only God can keep you from falling. But for Him to be able to keep you from falling you have to put your trust in Him. You can’t depend on our own understanding. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)

Belief Or Trust

It seems like a day doesn't go by that someone doesn't talk to me about the condition that the world finds itself in.  With the gridlock in Washington and the sequestration, people seem very nervous.  I have to admit that I have my concerns.  My business has been slower the last few weeks.  There have been some financial setbacks that I wasn't planning for.



What I have noticed in the past few months, is that it seems like the people I have talked to who have been the most worried are Christians.  I have gotten numerous e-mails from Christian people who are sure that doom and gloom are right around the corner.  I can't believe that God wants us to live that way.  2 Thessalonians 3:16 says "may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way".

I do believe that we are living in the last chapter of Earth's history, but I am puzzled by many of my fellow Christians.  Does God want us to worry?


I saw something the other day that really puzzled me.  I was in a Christian bookstore, and I saw that they had Christian worry stones for sale.  According to tradition a worry stone is a smooth, polished stone that when rubbed is believed to reduce one's worries and add a sense of calmness.  When the stone is rubbed, the negative energy and worries are supposedly transferred into the stone and you are left calm and peaceful.  I don't think worry stones are compatible with Christianity.

In Matthew 6:31 Jesus tells us "Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?"  He goes on to say "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own".

Christianity is supposed to be built on faith and trust. There is a story told about Blondin, who is considered to be one of the greatest tightrope-walkers of all time.  Blondin became obsessed with the idea of crossing Niagara Falls the first time he saw them in 1858.  A year after his initial visit, he returned to accomplish the feat.  The stunt was not without controversy.  Many people felt that a stunt like Blondin's would trivialize the falls, turning them into a backdrop for a circus act, and should not be allowed.

Eventually, Blondin was allowed to string his wire across the falls and on June 30, 1859, he was the first man ever to cross Niagara Falls by tightrope.  A large crowd of 100,000 people watched him walk on a single three-inch rope, 1,100 feet long and 160 feet above the falls at one side and 270 feet at the other.

Blondin made many more trips across the gorge during the next year.  Each time, he thrilled larger crowds with more exciting acts.  He balanced a chair on the rope and stood on it.  He took pictures of the crowd while he balanced on the rope.  He cooked a meal on a small portable cooker and lowered it to amazed passengers on the Maid of the Mist below.  He crossed blindfolded, in a sack, on stilts, and pushing a wheel barrow.


In 1860 a Royal party from Britain that included the Prince of Wales saw Blondin cross the tightrope on stilts, and again blindfolded. After that he stopped halfway across and cooked and ate an omelet. Next he wheeled a wheelbarrow from one side to the other, and returned with a sack of potatoes in it.  Then Blondin approached the Royal party. He asked the Prince of Wales, "Do you believe I could take a man across the tightrope in this wheelbarrow?"  "Yes, I do", said the Prince.  "Hop in, then", replied Blondin.  Well, the Prince declined Blondin's challenge. He might have believed Blondin could do it, but he wasn't about to trust him with his life.

When it comes to our relationship with God, this kind of trust doesn't do much good.  God doesn't want us to say "Yes Lord I believe in you, but not enough to put my life in your hands."  Belief has to come with trust.  Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Is their a difference between trust and belief.  The Prince of Wales believed that Blondin could walk a man across the rope in a wheelbarrow, but he didn't trust him enough to get in.  Do you believe in God?  Do you trust him with your life?  Trust God with all your heart, and if he asks you to get in the wheelbarrow, do it!