Something Smells! Light a Candle.

This has all happened before, and it will all happen again; but this time it happened behind the oven. 

The triplex at Camp Joy, the humblest of dwellings, is a place we affectionately call…Home. (Well, what would you call it?) We sleep there, hang our clothes there, occasionally eat there, and if we’re lucky get to spend free time there.

Our home has all the modern conveniences of a smart house—the electric washer, the noiseless dryer, the touch lamp, and a little round radio on the ceiling over the stove that plays music when I cook—each item with its own unique qualities adding to the ambiance of a house full of gals. Of course the décor, wall hangings, pillows, and candles also add something to that effect. We like it.

But when something smells in our house, there’s only one thing we appreciate—a candle!

Who can say what goes on in other dwellings, but in ours candles serve both to create and conceal aromas. Sometimes the troubling smell is that of the centipedes sucked up into the vacuum. Other times it’s the vegetable brine brewing in the bottom of the garbage can. Once it was the noxious odor of something unpleasant dying behind the refrigerator. These things take their place in triplex history.

Recently, the intense smell that greeted us as we entered was both familiar and serious, and—this may surprise you—No candles were lit!

The smell was gas leaking from our oven. We decided that we really didn't mind the smell and preferred to keep our little house. Thankfully, the local handyman—I mean, one of the camp guys (he’s done much for us) came over and turned the gas off so we could breath. Since then, we have lived to tell the story…and burn more candles! 

One Thing

We all know how one little thing can make a big difference – like whether you pay the bill today when it’s due or tomorrow when it’s late. So it should be no surprise to us that procedures are in place for us when we choose to follow the Lord.

I was eating with my grandparents one day, and they were telling about a time one of the kids had knocked a part out of the freezer while filling up an ice chest. This tiny part happened to direct the water flow into the dispenser. Because the part was missing, all that water was shooting into the ice tray and freezing. By the time they found it, the icebox was a solid lump. What a difficult mess to try to clean up!

The problem was not a mechanical or electrical one. The water was available for use, but because one thing was missing, all that effort was wasted as it continued to shoot pointlessly into the icebox.

Christ spoke to a rich, powerful young man once about one thing he was missing (Mark 10, Luke 18). All his life, this young man had striven for success. He kept every rule he knew! But Christ said to him, “You still lack one thing.”

Like that disconnected water hose, all the young man’s efforts were spraying out vainly. He was incomplete by the Lord’s standards.  Chambers’s book My Utmost for His Highest says, “The one thing necessary by Jesus Christ’s point of view is union with Himself and nothing in between…not to save [our] soul (only one thing saves a man—absolute reliance upon Jesus Christ)—but in order to follow Jesus.”

One day Jesus was welcomed to the home of His good friends—Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. As usual, Jesus spent time teaching those that loved Him about eternal life. Martha had much work to prepare for her guests and became frustrated. She told Jesus, “Bid Mary to come into the kitchen and help me.” Jesus’ reply demonstrates the value of the one missing element. He says, “Mary has chosen that one thing which is most important, and that will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10)

Mary’s heart was full of love for Jesus. She had chosen to sit at His feet and hear His words. Christ does not commend those who skip out on service. Neither does He condemn good works. He says that the one thing we lack is a heart of love for our God—a heart that causes us to choose Him before anything else we could desire.

It’s a difficult choice, and He often tests us by requiring from us the most precious of our possessions – not because He does not love us, for He often returns them once they are given, as He did with Abraham when called to give up his only son (Genesis 22). Other times God gives us something better. But He wants us to choose Him above every other desire.

If this sounds difficult or unpleasant to you, open God’s word the Bible. You will learn Who He is that asks this from you. As you come to know Him and love Him, you will find this is not so hard to do.

A Winter Festival at Lake Geneva

Angie and I went to Lake Geneva for a quick trip on our day off. We visited the museum, slipped along the slushy sidewalks outside the shops, viewed the giant snow carvings at the winter festival, inspected the smaller blocks available for the public to try their hand at sculpting, and then drove through the neighborhoods admiring the houses in that quaint little town.

At the Geneva Lake Museum, visitors walked through a timeline of replica buildings full of household implements and curios. Nearly everything was hands-on. Yippee! It was fascinating to learn how we in our little town fit into the grand history of the world.

One of the homes on the lake had been built with materials from a Chicago World Fair Exhibition. Parts of it were displayed in the museum. Another neat attraction was the 1880/1920 kitchens built side by side for comparison.

Outside although the streets were slushy, folks were making their way up and down, sipping their Starbucks to stay warm. Angie and I spied the bookstore at the same moment and popped in for a look. We didn't find Waldo though. Angie's hoping to find the book sometime.

Just a block or two from the museum, on the frozen lake was the winter festival--helicopter rides, four-wheelers, and the amazing 10-foot snow sculptures in front of the Riviera. After viewing the variety of lions, eagles, and fairy-tale characters, we saw a shop advertising Blackhawks paraphernalia across the street. Angie and I decided to browse. Go team!

We hurried quickly back to the car when we couldn't feel our toes anymore, then drove around a little to see the beautiful homes. Not a row of cookie-cutter monstrosities, each one was uniquely shaped with porches, windows, and ornaments and seemed to come from a different era. But mingled with the other houses, they blended to create a pleasant vacation-town array.

Summer or Winter, Lake Geneva is an attractive spot to enjoy a day off.
Click here to see the pics at Angie's blog.