Living Lite Today with Ron Lambros Ron Lambros

I had oral surgery earlier this week to alleviate some issues I’ve endured for far too long. The procedure went well and I was getting ready to leave the surgeon’s office when his assistant handed me a sheet of paper with information typed out on both sides.


She smiled and told me that once the Novocain wore off, I’d want to read both pages because it contained all the information I needed for after-surgery pain management and care. I read it before I got to the car!


True to her word, those instructions saved me from what could have been an extremely painful after-surgery experience, but, by following the directions on those pages, my after-surgery effects were fairly mild and tolerable.


You know, God has directions, too and if we follow them, our lives can be rich and full, but, if we don’t…well, the outcome might not be as pleasant.


On today’s podcast, we’ll look at, perhaps, the greatest instructions that we ever received, and the eternal consequences that come from either following them or rejecting them.


 Stay with me as we talk about: You Must Be Born Again! That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today.


 

Bridget and I recently moved to the country, where the pace of life is a bit slower, more laid-back, and better suited to our slowing-down-a-bit lifestyle.


While our new home was being built, we didn’t have cable or satellite service, so we didn’t watch as much television as we normally do, which I thought would be difficult, but the opposite was true. While we did make it a priority to watch college football whenever and wherever we could, watching our normal sitcoms, dramas, and the news didn’t happen very often…and it turned out to be a huge blessing, especially missing the news.


I found that when I didn’t watch news programs right before going to bed, I was more relaxed, less keyed-up, and I slept better. After all, the top stories every evening normally dealt with war, political conflict, violence, crime, economic trouble, and pandemics…not exactly the formula for sound sleep.


Face it, we live in a world of chaos and instability, and even the most seasoned believer probably finds it difficult to not be hit with worry, doubt, stress, and fear from time to time.


But that’s not God’s desire for anyone. He wants all of us to live worry-free, doubt-free, stress-free, and free from fear, and He even makes a way for us to do it.


On today’s podcast, we’ll look at our daily lives and how we can navigate the waters of uncertainty and turbulence, putting aside everything that causes our minds and hearts to be anxious and afraid.


And we’re going to discover together why God wants all of us to: Give Peace a Chance. That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today.

The Olympics have always been fertile ground for Cinderella stories and fairytale endings, and the 1980 Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York, was the epitome of both, as the US Men’s Hockey Team, a rag-tag group of college-age kids, came together to do the impossible, defeat the legendary and, considered by most, unbeatable Soviet Hockey Team, by most accounts, the best hockey team in the world.


And, like most stories of this kind, there were many different angles to be taken into account. Cold War fears were rampant, making a US vs. Soviet anything all the more intense. The Soviets had trained and played together for years while the US team had only known each other and trained together for 6-months. And, of course, there was the intimidation factor. The Soviets were strong, powerful, a well-oiled machine, while the US team was made up of 20 college kids who knew of the Soviet’s prowess.


It didn’t start out easy for the American team. They weren’t really considered a top contender or even on the radar that year. They struggled early, but somehow beat Sweden in their first competition which was a miracle in and of itself. Then, they beat the Czechs, considered to be 2nd best hockey team in the world behind the Soviets.


With growing confidence and momentum, they went on to beat Norway, Romania, and West Germany, which then set the showdown with the mighty Soviets, the only team standing in their way of playing for the Gold Medal, something no US hockey team had won in 20 years.  


The Americans were considered huge underdogs, but definitely had the admiration and emotional support of most people on their side. It had become a 20th-Century version of David vs. Goliath, and the world was loving it.


The electricity in the arena was palpable as the game began. At the end of the first period, the US had held their own and were tied 2-2 with the Soviets, but at the end of the second period, they trailed 3-2. Going into the third and final period, the US team soon tied the score at 3-3, sending the crowd and the watching world into a frenzy.


Midway through the final period, Mike Eruzioni, team captain and emotional leader of the team, slipped in strong from the right side and scored. The US team was ahead for the first time in the contest, 4-3. With pucks flying and power-plays from one end of the rink to the other, the US hockey team held off the Soviets. With 10-seconds left in the contest, the countdown began, and at the 05-second mark, ABC sports commentator, Al Michaels, screamed out one of the most iconic quotes in televised Olympic history…”Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!”


The US Men’s hockey team had done the impossible, the improbable, the downright miraculous! They had beaten the seemingly invincible Soviets and then went on to defeat Finland in the final for the Gold Medal.


Now, while events like this might seem to be miraculous to many people, miracles are really nothing new and actually occur every day. In fact, they’ve been happening since time began. What has changed though, is our perception of what a miracle really is and whether or not we believe in them.


Well, stay with me, because that’s what I’ll be talking about today as we take a good look at what we really believe, and answer the question: Do You Believe in Miracles? That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today!

I don’t know many people that don’t love Christmas, but I do know a lot of people that hate waiting for Christmas morning, especially children!


Bridget will shop for months in advance to find just the right gifts for each one of our grandchildren. She’ll carefully wrap each present with fancy bows and ribbons, all while knowing that her months of tender, loving, intentional planning and preparation will be over with a flurry of ripping and shredding in less than 15 minutes at the most. Some will be happy with the new bicycle, while some will be disappointed with the new socks and underwear, but the excitement of the anticipation lingers on.


And, you know, I suppose, if we’re honest, every one of us can be just like that with God. We’ve let Him know exactly what we want and what we don’t want in our life, we remind Him of the good things we’ve done and why He should give us what we ask for, and then we wait for Him to answer our prayers the way we asked Him to. After all, we’re His child and He promised to give us the desires of our heart, right?


But sometimes, we wait, and we wait, and we wait, and our Christmas morning never comes. Our prayers go unanswered, and we’re forced to wait on God. That’s not fun, is it? No one likes to wait for anything we ask of Him, especially when we feel we really need it or deserve it right then.


So, what are we to do in those moments? What are we to do while we wait for God’s answer to come? How do we keep it all together spiritually in the meantime?


Well, stay with me, because that’s what I’ll be talking about today as we find out why: It’s Worth the Wait! That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today!

Anyone who listens to this podcast very often can quickly tell that I love old television programs, especially The Andy Griffith Show. I’ve seen every episode multiple times and I drive Bridget absolutely crazy by reciting the lines of the show before the characters say them. To me, it is still one of the best programs ever produced and will never be duplicated.


Another one of my favorites was Mission Impossible. Now, to be honest, many people never knew it was an incredibly popular television series long before it became a 4-billion-dollar box office sensation starring Tom Cruise, but it was.


It was ahead of its time for broadcast television. It featured drama, intrigue, special effects, scientific ingenuity, covert action and secrecy, and had an all-star cast like Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Sam Elliot, and Leonard Nimoy, just to name a few.


Now, the premise of each episode was always the same: A group of undercover agents was sent out to perform a dangerous, seemingly impossible, task. One of the agents was given a case file containing an audio recording that detailed the mission. The tape was then played and always included: Your mission, should you decide to accept it, and would then conclude with the assurance that, as always, should you or any member of your team be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim. The tape machine and audio recording then went up in smoke and flames. It made for a great hour of television and proved each week that nothing is impossible. 


But life isn’t always like that, is it? Sometimes, we’re faced with, or asked to do, what seems impossible to us. And we often scratch our heads and wonder how in the world we got ourselves into the situation in the first place, and, more than that, how we’re going to get out of it and promise never to get in that situation again.


But, what if it’s God who’s asking you to do it? What if you find yourself face-to-face with God Himself asking you to do something you see absolutely no way of doing, staring straight into the abyss of the mind-blowing impossible? What then?


Well, stay with me, because I’ll be talking about that today as we ask and answer the question of what to do: When God Asks the Impossible! That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today!

One of the most powerful weapons known to man is not a bomb, not associated with germ or chemical warfare, it’s not even a military device; and yet, it has the power to build up or destroy, to encourage or defeat, and to be used for good or evil. The weapon I’m taking about is the power of speech.


Down through the ages, people everywhere, from every country, race, color, or creed, have been affected either positively or negatively by its strength, and it continues to affect us all today in one way or another.


Great speeches have been known to motivate, encourage, educate, enlighten, and either draw us together or tear us apart. Speeches like Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Fear Speech” to our nation on the verge of war, or Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech to a country torn by civil and racial unrest…each one inspired, motivated, and challenged the listener to look beyond personal benefit and interest and seek the greater good.


But of all the speeches I’ve ever personally heard that moved me the most was by Jim Valvano, best known for his successful coaching career at North Carolina State University, where his team won the NCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship in 1983 against improbable odds over the Houston Cougars. I can still see him running across the basketball court when the buzzer-beating tap-in went in, hair and coattail flying, with his signature grin from ear-to-ear.


And I vividly remember him delivering an incredibly moving and inspirational speech 10 years later at the 1993 ESPN ESPY Awards while terminally ill with cancer. He shared many things from his heart that night, but one of the most memorable was when Jim Valvano, lovingly known as Jimmy V., implored the audience to do 3 things every day of their life: laugh, think, and cry. He said if you do those three things, you have truly lived that day. He then went on to announce the formation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, whose motto would be "Don't give up. Don't ever give up.” Sadly, he delivered his speech less than two months before his death from the bone cancer that he had valiantly fought.


It was a speech for the ages and, if you haven’t heard it, it’s worth Googling and spending a few minutes being inspired to never give up in the face of insurmountable or impossible odds. Simply put, we all need to have hope.


And that’s what I want to talk about on today’s podcast. We need to be reminded that we possess the spiritual power and resources to overcome any hardship, any challenge, and any obstacle that is put in our path, attempting to prevent us from experiencing the abundant life that God wants us to have.


Stay with me as we look at God’s Word, and even echo the words of Jim Valvano, and learn together to: Never Give Up! That’s coming up on this episode of Living Lite Today.