March 16, 2001

Sand Castle Towers
By Cathie Floyd

Once a year our local beach holds a sand-sculpting contest. I stand in awe; as I watch these people using just sand, a shovel and their hands, make a work of art from only what nature supplies. In the evening as everyone begins leaving, I am always left with a melancholy feeling, knowing as the tide comes in all this beauty will be washed away. Many times it has caused me to ponder and wonder, is this what I do with my life? Are my hopes, dreams, fear and trust built on a foundation made of sand?

As a young child I loved building sand castles. Even today, even though my kids are grown, I love to sit in the warm sun, run my hands through the cool sand and let my imagination create the castle, draw bridge and even the moat. As I became older I understood that you have to start building your castle further away from the shoreline. Unfortunately, you have to use sand that is wet so it can hold together, and that means building close to the shore. Such is the catch-22 of a sand castle builder.

I used to watch my daughters as they built their little sand castles, working so hard and fervently, knowing all the while that it was only a matter of time before their hearts were going to be breaking. Sure enough, within a couple of hours the tide would start coming in. At first it would just lap the outside of their castle, just barely touching it. Within minutes though, the water would start hitting the side of their creation..

Almost immediately the walls would start collapsing and their cries followed immediately. I would run to them with a pail and try with everything in me to help save their castle. The harder we worked at scooping the water out, the faster it seemed to fill. It wouldn't be long before we would have to stand back and watch as their little construction was washed away back into the sea.

I have to think - man, isn't that a picture of how my life was. We all build our foundations on something. Whether we want to recognize it or not, is up to each of us. Some choose money as their foundations, while others might choose food, shopping, or their own self to put their trust and security in. For me it was the latter.

I would put all my trust into the Lord - up to a certain point. As long as things were going well, He had me one hundred percent. It was when the tides started coming into my life that I felt I had to step in. I was the picture of my daughters, in their frantic attempt to save their castle. I would run around anxiously trying to save the walls of my life from collapsing. And in the end just like the sand castle, I couldn't safe myself.

I can't count the times I have been washed away by the tides of circumstances in my life. It was only in hitting my bottom once and hearing the Lord speak to my soul, that He couldn't use sand castle builders, that I started understanding what I was doing.

Use see, sand castle followers are ones that crumble and fall apart by life's presses. If we have put our faith, trust and hope in anything other than Christ, we will trip over ourselves every time. Only the Rock, that is Christ will endure the obstacles that chisel away at our life.

It is Christ that will be there for you strong and steady when life knocks, collides, or runs you over. He is there when all others have fled. He is there when all money is gone, when all hope is lost, when you are left collapsed in the chaos you have created. He will support us when friends and family don't, and we can't or won't.

Without God at the center of our life, pressure from the outside soon becomes greater than power from within, we then become easy prey for the enemies of life -- stress, anxiety, illness, fatigue, and countless numbers of destroyers. Those who devote their lives to achievements, causes or possessions have built their foundations on things that are limited and changeable. The possessions that we work so hard to obtain will all erode away, as the tides of life flow in and out.

A building is only as solid as its foundation. The foundation of our lives has to be Jesus Christ; he is our base, our reason for living. Today we must ask ourselves,what foundation are we building our lives on? Are we building it on the only real, and lasting foundation, or are we building our foundation, on defective things such as wealth, security, success or fame? When the tides roll in and out of your life, what will be left standing?

1 Corinthians 3: 11-13
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid,which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.

About the author: Cathie Floyd is a Christian writer who has been published in several other online magazines and she is a four star author on Themestreams.

Is It A Job Or A Ministry?
By Phyllis Coates

Some people have a JOB, others involve themselves in a MINISTRY.

If you are doing it because no one else will, it is a job.
If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it is a ministry.

If you quit because someone criticizes you it is a job.
If you keep on serving, it is a ministry.

If you do it only as long as it does not interfere with your other activities, it is a job.
If you are committed to staying with it even when it means letting go of other things, it is a ministry.

If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it was a job.
If you stay with it even though nobody recognized your efforts, it's a ministry.

It is hard to get excited about a job, but it is almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.

Job Applicant Failures

The following, allegedly, are actual post-interview excerpts collected from middle managers who, needless to say, probably did not hire any of the people mentioned here:

1. "Applicant stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application."

2. "She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time."

3. "A balding candidate abruptly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece."

4. "Applicant asked to see interviewer's resume to see if the personnel executive was qualified to judge the candidate."

5. "Applicant announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewer's office - wiping the ketchup on her sleeve."

6. "Stated that, if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm."

7. "Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions."

8. "When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around my office."

9. "At the end of the interview, while I stood there dumbstruck, he went through my purse, took out a brush, brushed his hair, and left."

10. "Applicant pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of me. Said he collected photos of everyone who interviewed him."

11. "Said he wasn't interested because the position paid too much."

12. "During the interview, an alarm clock went off from the candidate's briefcase. He took it out, shut it off, apologized and said he had to leave for another interview."

13. "A telephone call came in for the job applicant. It was from his wife. His side of the conversation went like this: "Which company? When do I start? What's the salary?" I said, "I assume you're not interested in conducting the interview any farther."

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