for 18 MAR 06: AFTER THE WHAMMYS FALL

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this humorous, serious, or a little of both - but from time to time, we offer things to reflect upon as we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.)

It was sad to learn this past week about the death of Peter Tomarken - the man who hosted the old game show "Press Your Luck." He and his wife died in a Southern California plane crash. But before you get ahead of me - no, I am NOT calling on everyone to wear crash helmets at Thunder in the Valley.

Have you seen "Press Your Luck" in reruns on the Game Show Network? A little bit of knowledge helps - but the lure is how players try to gain as much cash and merchandise as they can, without landing on a "whammy" space. A whammy is like "bankrupt" on Wheel of Fortune - only the cartoon characters who take money are funnier than Pat Sajak.

If you pick up four whammys, you're out of the game on Press Your Luck - but think a minute about this. Are you pressing YOUR luck in life? Are you trying to pile up money, belongings and fame - not thinking that sooner or later, whammys happen? And unless it involves Mohammed, it probably doesn't have cartoons?

It's easy for wiseacres to say Peter Tomarken's death was the fourth whammy for him. But who knows how many whammys each of us have on OUR scoreboards? You lose it all with the last whammy of death. As radio preachers like to say, you've never seen a hearse towing a U-Haul.

Believe it or not, your "game of life" doesn't have to end with the final whammy. There's a way to come back and play another day - and even join in a sort of "tournament of champions." It comes by knowing not a game show host, but the
"Lord of hosts." And He had that title, long before radio and TV were invented.

If you want to keep playing beyond the whammy of death (to borrow from a different game show), you need to get acquainted with this Lord of hosts. The book about Him says He'll eventually destroy death. I have nothing against funeral homes, but I look forward to the day when they're all out of business.

So if you've been putting off all thoughts about the REALLY long-term future, may I suggest taking some time this weekend to consider it. And if you need to make some changes to stay in the ultimate game, do it. Don't press your luck with this - because that last whammy could really sting.

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