The Boogie Man didn't get me although they said he would

I was afraid of the Boogie Man; he never showed up.

My father's home was next to the cemetery. I slept in the back room only about 15 feet from a row of tombstones that were harmless in the day but struck fear in my heart at night.

In my room, the wallpaper was loose and hung from the wall in places. However, at night the room was dark. I was alone and it seemed that someone from the graveyard was looking in the window. The hanging paper seemed to breathe. I was terrified because I was told that when I did wrong that the Boogie Man would get me. I remembered I was supposed to feed the chickens that day and didn't. I was terrified that for punishment the Boogie Man would get me. I hid my head under the covers and would not move. I was too afraid to go to the bathroom; I wet my bed. I believed that the Boogie Man would get me if I came from under the covers.

The next day I looked out the window only to learn that the graves had not opened. The wall paper still hung and that there was no one lurking in the bushes. The boogie man didn't get me.

For many years my actions were controlled by the threat that the "Boogie Man" would get me if I strayed.

The Boogie Man" is the composite of everything that we fear. He's the unseen character that lurks behind every bush, corner and turn, looking for a chance to prey on us.

The fear of failure or ridicule stops many from gaining the opportunities they should have in life. They are afraid of the Boogie Man.

God has promised to be with us in every situation. We are constantly told to have no fear as we daily work in his will. We should never be dismayed, overly frustrated or afraid.

Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

When God shows up the Boogie Man disappears.

When trusting God is pushed to the side...

They pushed God to the side, then put him back!

There are two kinds of Presidential one dollar coins floating around, one has an almost invisible "In God we trust" and the other has the phrase inscribed on the face. Confusing?

In 2007 the U.S. Mint started distributing coins featuring likenesses of all of the Presidents. However, the new design rubbed a lot of people because it took the words "In God we trust" from the front of the coin and put it on the edge instead. Since no one ever reads the edge of a coin many thought it had been removed altogether. Thanks to the Internet a silent national protest began and in 2009 "In God we trust" made it back to the front of the coins.

The original idea of placing the "trust" statement out of edge of the coin and nearly out of sight is a sign of the times; we are trusting God less. It seems as though God is being pushed out of all public life and private lives as well.

However, the protest that resulted in it being replaced is also a sign. It's a sign of of what happens when people of God stand up.

Trusting God should not be a debatable concern for believers; it is understood. We must trust Him for our very being. We cannot move Him to the edge of our life experience; He demands and deserves first place.

We should trust Him for our daily needs, protection and favor. We dare not risk moving Him to the edge of our lives or even worse,out of our lives altogether.

Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

If you happen to run upon one of those dollar coins with "God" on the edge, keep it as an example of what can happen if the faithful ever lose sight of God.

We rode above the storm.

Life looked so peaceful above the clouds; who would have thought there was a storm below!

My wife and I took a few days off last week and flew to Chicago for a dinner, a movie and some shopping. On the flight I heard the captain announce over the intercom that we would be cruising at 35,000 feet but there was a storm underway in the Chicago area. In fact, he expected the flight to be delayed a few minutes waiting for storm related runway clearances.

If there was a storm brewing below we couldn't tell. Outside our window the clouds floated like puffy white balls of cotton, gliding peacefully and quietly. The plane seemed oblivious to the storm that was forming below and the cotton candy clouds were an awesome display of God's ability to manage our situation while pushing our jet through the skies at 600 miles per hour.

We were riding above the storm nestled in the relative peace and security of the clouds, sipping orange juice and in-flight nick-knacks, while God cleared a path for our plane to land. The captain said there was a storm below; he didn't seem to worry about it, we didn't either. We read the sky mall magazine and laughed as we floated on the jet stream.

I remember a passage from Psalms 36:5 that says, "Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds."

God controls the storms of our lives. If we will trust him he will hold us above the storm, then reach into the clouds and guide us gently to the ground, Hallelujah.

When our plane touched down, the storm had passed and the sun was shining. As we stepped off the plane we heard two captains say, "Have a great day!"

Two captains: One flew the plane and the other held it in the air.