Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

I was praying early one morning while it was still dark outside. I was talking to God and sharing the desire of my heart to know Him better, climb up higher in my spiritual walk, and to lean on His grace to beat down occasional anxiety. The Lord reminded me that I don’t have to be perfect and always have it all together in order to help and encourage others. My personal experience with struggles and triumphs enables me to gently empathize and pray fervently for others who are in the same boat. This concept rings true for any follower of Christ.

I have walked barefoot through rocky places of loss and sorrow, but I’ve also experienced the supernatural grace and peace that comes from my heavenly Father. God carried me with unseen arms through the gut-wrenching journey of grief. God’s Word communicates to us that Jesus experienced everything we experience in our lives. “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet He did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). This passage gives us hope to not drop anchor, but to set our sails for a perfect docking when our journey is completed.

As long as mankind resides on planet earth, we will have both rough and smooth sailing  experiences. Heaven is perfect; earth is not. When Jesus was with the Father in heaven, everything was perfect for Him. But when He came to earth as a babe and grew to be a man, His life changed dramatically. “He [Jesus] was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care” (Isaiah 53:3 NLT).

Perhaps believers should ask ourselves if we’re guilty of turning and looking the other way when we are aware that someone is going through stormy winds. I know many of us have good intentions to reach out and make the call, send the card, or drop by for a quick visit. Many roads are paved with good intentions. Sadly, I’ve been guilty of  procrastination and it was disappointing for both parties. Learning the hard way is a hard way to learn. Learning to practice prompt obedience to God’s leading is the better way.

Jesus was in the same boat with His disciples when a raging storm hit the lake. They  called out for help, so Jesus rebuked the storm and it instantly became calm. If Jesus has ever calmed your personal storm, you can “pay it forward.” “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God (Who is the Source of every comfort, consolation and encouragement) Who comforts (consoles and encourages) me in every trouble (calamity and affliction) so that I may also be able to comfort those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort with which I myself am comforted by God“ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 AMP). In becoming more like Christ, believers will naturally turn our attention to the needs of others. May our  empathy run deep so we can weep with hurting people and gently guide them back to their place of joy and trust in God.

The Key: Let’s carry loved ones (in the same boat with us) until they find their sea legs.

Jesus wants us to rest.  His kind of rest. “Come to me, all of you who are weary, and I will give you rest,” he says.  The Christian life should not be a burden, yet choices we make to stay in a perpetual state of busy-ness force it to become just that.

Dave and I are in Las Vegas, and this past week we rode e-bikes to Boulder City, about 10 miles away, for breakfast. If you’re not familiar with e-bikes, they are amazing.  You pedal but choose a gear (0-Race mode).  Some of our crazier relatives ride only in Race-mode, but I stay in the lower gears unless there is a hill, and then I press “2” and let the bike do most of the work.  I still pedal, just to pretend that I’m doing something.

On our ride, we passed legitimate bikers who had no battery pack to assist them.  They struggled to pedal up the steep hills as we passed them with ease.  Of course, they were getting a work out that we weren’t, but our ride was relaxing and fun and stressless.  Only one time did I accidentally hit the throttle and propel myself forward, narrowly missing Dave’s bike, but other than that, our excursion was easy-breezy.

Not so with the regular bikers.

The Christian journey should be more akin to the restful, e-bike experience.  At least, that’s the way Jesus would desire it to be, for Jesus-rest allows us to find solace and renewal that only he can offer.  Sometimes, he even permits an injury or sickness to slow us down. In Psalm 23:2, David, the shepherd boy-turned king, wrote this about God: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.”  Get that?  He “makes me.”  Jesus knows that we require rest, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Still, we choose to stubbornly dig in our heels to the point of exhaustion in order to meet the goals we have set for ourselves.  In that, we miss God-goals.  Yesterday in our Bible study, one woman spoke about her judgmentalism towards homeless people and how God stopped her from rushing past them on the street last week when one said to her, “Love God.”  She paused and asked him to repeat what he had just said.  “Love God,” he restated, as if a directive from the Lord Himself.

She shared with us that sometimes we encounter angels in human clothing and instead of dismissing them because we are rushing to check something off of our to-do list, we need to recognize that God might have other plans.  The woman admitted that she (pedaling through life as fast as she could?) has never stopped a stranger with those words, yet a homeless man (allowing God to do all the work?) had shared them with her.

In the article “Scripture Savvy,” Jamie Wilson writes that being still doesn’t just refer to physical stillness but also to a quieting of our hearts and minds. “It is an invitation to trust in God’s wisdom and plans, knowing that He is in control and will be exalted in every situation…Resting in God is not passive; it requires an active surrender of our lives and a recognition of His saving work in our hearts. It is a conscious decision to find our security and peace in Him alone.”

Say what you want, but in life, especially in this spiritual journey, I will take all the help I can get.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Those who served their Country and died in the battle for freedom deserve every ounce of honor and respect we can give them. Audie Murphy’s classic war memoir, “To Hell and Back,” graphically paints the grim picture of war. In the book’s foreward, Tom Brokaw states that he had researched many WWII combat veterans and had never learned of anyone involved in so much up close and personal fighting as Audie Murphy. He was a courageous Texan warrior of valor who deeply cared about his fellow soldiers, their safety, and their united mission.

I’m embarrassed to confess that I didn’t know who Audie Murphy was until 2013. He was the most-decorated soldier of WWII. I didn’t know that — according to my heart, I thought it was my dad. And that’s the way every daughter should feel about her father’s exploits of military service.

Dad was in the thick of things (Battle of the Bulge cleanup, etc.) in Germany from 1944-46, so I’ve studied some of the famous campaigns in the European Theater. General George S. Patton wasn’t particularly loved by every soldier, nevertheless, he was gifted with a brilliant military mind. “Blood and Guts Patton” did the planning and his fighting men determined to bravely carry it out. He did what others said couldn’t be done.

It appears that Memorial Day is lost on the majority of Americans who are pursuing their dreams and enjoying their freedom. It’s not just a sunny holiday to celebrate the beginning of summer. It was no picnic to sleep in a foxhole in freezing weather and snow. Dad told me that there were no athiests in foxholes because everybody prayed and called on God. Some veterans survived the war and some didn’t. Civilians have no idea how bad it was — and I fear that many Americans don’t care. That makes me extremely sad.

I’m reminded of an old hymn entitled, “Lead Me to Calvary” with lyrics by Jennie Evelyn Hussey. “Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget Thine Agony. Lest I forget Thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.” If we don’t remember on purpose the important highlights in life, the memory sadly fades through the years. Memorial Day is an annual opportunity to contemplate and honor our military loved ones and strangers for their ultimate sacrifice. Why do we, as a Nation, have to stand for what’s right and fight? Because that’s what Jesus did when He died on the cruel cross of Calvary. He willingly died and rose triumphantly so others could have an abundant life now and then live eternally with Him.

“Then He [God] will judge disputes between nations and settle arguments between many people. They will hammer their swords into plow blades and their spears into pruning shears. Nations will never fight against each other, and they will never train for war again” (Isaiah 2:4 GW). One day, firepower and military strategies won’t be needed. But until then, we owe a great debt to our military heroes who left behind a great Nation under God. What shall we do with our freedom? Let’s not take it for granted,  squander it foolishly, nor live carelessly. Let‘s honor and respect the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives for the benefit of others. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NLT).

The Key: Enjoy your freedom and give honor and respect to those who made it possible.

While visiting my grandchildren, Paige, age 3, and Tatum, age 1½, in Arkansas, their parents and I took them to a children’s indoor playground.  For two hours, they ran, climbed, slid, rolled and pretended.  Soon after we arrived, two other families showed up, each with an autistic son.  As we sat on the sidelines, watching our kiddos laughing and having fun, the mothers of these two 10-year-old boys stayed near their sons who needed constant monitoring.

Twice, one boy took off his shirt and attempted to climb a slide backwards.  Immediately, his mother grabbed his ankles, pulled him down the slide and wrestled him to put his shirt back on.  When a blaring alarm went off, the attendant bolted to the back door, the only exit left unlocked, from where the boy had escaped and was running towards the street.  His mother alertly ran out the front door to intercept her son.  We all stood frozen, wanting to help but not knowing what to do.  Within a minute, the three of them were back inside, safe.

What must that be like to parent an autistic child?  While my grandchildren mingled with other kids and wanted to show us their newest skill, these boys could not be left alone.  When our family went to a restaurant afterwards, the other family did not have that luxury, and when we tucked Paige and Tatum into bed later that night, the autistic family would tussle with children who fought sleep and wanted to flee.  Theirs was a lifelong struggle.

I once talked with a young parent after he and his wife received the diagnosis that their son was severely autistic.  Finding a nanny, an appropriate school, play-dates with friends and relaxing vacations was nearly impossible, and dealing with others’ dirty looks when their child has a meltdown breaks their hearts.

On my trip to Arkansas, I encountered a woman who works for HopSkipDrive, a company that hires drivers for special-needs children.  She drives an autistic boy to school and back and is paid by the government “very, very well,” she said.  The young boy’s caretaker rides with him in the back seat of the car, and one day she told him that he had been bad at school and would not get a treat.  Since the school gives them a treat no matter how they behave, this child had no idea why he was not rewarded.  He began punching and kicking his caretaker, and the driver had to physically intervene.

In the article “Desiring God,” author Cameron Doolittle—who runs a weekend respite center for special-needs children–writes four things autistic children have taught her about her faith.  One child is able to filter out excessive noises and listen only to those who matter most, just as we should do with God’s voice. Another child acts out Disney characters to portray his emotions.  To communicate fear, he acts like the rat in Ratatouille; to show strength, he acts like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Doolittle writes that we should filter our emotions through the lens God has provided us in the bible.

One young boy uses words literally.  If Doolittle tells him to not hit our friends, he thinks it’s okay to hit strangers. Christians, the author says, also need to choose their words carefully and speak the truth in love.  Another boy, after a weekend of respite, greets his mother with, “You’re still fat, Mom.”  Knowing that that is inappropriate, he has learned to quickly ask for forgiveness.  We should do likewise, writes Doolittle.

I asked my parent-friend what God has taught him through his experience fathering a special-needs son.  “Patience.  Unconditional love.  Dedication.  Unselfishness.”  Qualities we all should have, but I’m not sure this isn’t one of the most challenging ways to learn those lessons.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

I recently completed ten weeks of successful occupational therapy for a frozen shoulder. The OT sessions involved targeted stretches while at the facility, plus every day at home. One day, Hugo, my therapist, was patiently instructing me on where to stand, how to grab the resistance bands with both hands and do a three-point stretch. After a few uncoordinated sets of looking really silly, I laughed and told him, “I’ve never been a cheerleader.” (I’m sure he already figured that out.) Although I can sing, play the piano blindfolded, and pat my foot all at the same time, this exercise really showcased my lack of cheerleading talents.

Even though I don’t have what it takes to physically be a cheerleader, I do have the desire to cheer people on. In fact, every believer can do this because the only requirement is to speak encouraging words at the right time. While reading the Old Testament, I was impressed with Joshua‘s communication skills. With Moses dead and gone, Joshua was leading the Israelites into the promised land. After this bunch of complainers got spanked for 40 years in the wilderness, it was finally time to divide and possess the land.

Joshua 17:14-18 MEV: The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you assigned us a single allotment, a single portion? We are a numerous people, as the Lord has blessed us.” Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forests and clear out a place there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you.” The descendants of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites living in the plains have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and the Jezreel Valley.” Joshua said to the descendants of Joseph, “You are a numerous people who have great strength. There will not be only one allotment for you. The hill country shall be yours. Although it is a forest you shall clear it and own it to its borders. You shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.“ Ra-Ra, Ra-Ra-Ra! Don’t be a jerk and get to work! There’s no doubt about it! You can do it!

Joshua was a great cheerleader who listened and then had an encouraging comeback for every question or complaint. “The right word spoken at the right time is as beautiful as gold apples in a silver bowl” (Proverbs 25:11 NCV). Joshua’s leadership is a prime example of this wisdom scripture. It’s true that a timely and appropriate word contains a healing balm that’s valuable like a silver bowl full of golden fruit. And the opposite of that is a discouraging word at the worst-possible time. Often individuals do not lack strength, they lack will. Encouraging words can give them the will to go on and not give up. Right and calming words can also abate anger: “A gentle answer will calm a person’s anger. But an unkind answer will cause more anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NCV).

We could all be further up the highway to heaven if we’d take the gravel road where Jesus walked. “But God, Who comforts and encourages and refreshes and cheers the depressed and the sinking, comforted and encouraged and refreshed and cheered us by the arrival of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:6 AMP). When we arrive on the scene, do we encourage or discourage others? Are we a ray of sunshine? Or does the wallpaper fall off  from the verbal fallout? Do we brighten the corner where we are?

The Key: I want to be a cheerleader like God, Joshua, and Titus and kick the devil in the knee. Ra-Ra-Ree!

Do you have an “until” moment?  Your “everything is going along swell…until” moment?  This past week while flying from Los Angeles to Dallas, I was looking for a seat at the gate when I walked past a body-builder speaking to a lady who was practicing the splits on the carpeted area. (I would have joined her but realized there was no need to get the paramedics involved.)

Unusual pair, I thought, listening to them discuss their workout programs, except, as it turned out, they weren’t together.  The muscular man was with another woman. He, funny, witty, and seemingly, adventurous, spent the next two hours entertaining everyone around him.  When we began to board, he placed a beanie on his head and then protectively stuck a feather in its upturned hem.  Definitely his own person.

I boarded ahead of him and his lady-friend, but as they came down the aisle, looking for their seat, I noticed a complete change in his countenance.  He appeared terrified and frustrated when he found out his seat was between his gal-pal and a stranger.  I could overhear her reassuring him that everything was going to be all right.

He had appeared so confident and joyful…until he didn’t. He now looked like he would strangle someone, and although two rows back, I overheard the girl loudly talking with her dad on the phone about how hard it was to calm down her friend.  When we had been in the air a short time, the pilot informed us that we were in for a turbulent ride but he would “try” to find an altitude to make the trip easier. Not. Good. News.

The pilot failed to find calmer skies.  An hour outside of Dallas, even the flight attendants were told to be seated as the pilots navigated the storm around us.  Since they had spent much of their time at the terrified man’s seat, reassuring him, I feared that, without their constant attention, he might turn into a raving lunatic, mid-plane jostle.  And jostle we did.  I secretly began thanking God for engineers so smart, they could design a plane that could endure such shaking without snapping in half.

When we finally landed and were allowed to stand, passengers closer to the terrified man began to assure him that things now were okay.  “Nope,” he said.  “I will be on Amtrak the rest of this trip.  There will be no more flying for me.”

We all have our “until” moment, don’t we?  We are fine…until someone crowds in front of our merge line on the freeway.  Until our boss says one more critical word.  Until the customer service agent is rude instead of helpful.  Until our spouse once again fails to clean up his/her mess.  Until we are asked yet again to loan a tool to a moochy neighbor.  Until the mechanic’s bill isn’t even close to his estimate.

Until.  Until.  Until.  The Bible is not short of “until” moments.

In the Old Testament, barren Rachel’s moment came when, jealous of her fertile sister, she said that she would die if she did not get pregnant.  Moses spent weeks in the presence of God and was a happy camper…until he saw the golden calf the Israelites were worshipping.  Saul, the king of Israel, had his “until” moment when he found out that his son, Jonathan, was closer to his friend David than with his dad.  The list is endless.

Paul (of New Testament fame) addressed the issue when he said that we always are to be content.  Instead of there being an “until” moment, we are to rely on God and not ourselves, and until someone causes me to have one of those moments, I plan to do just that.

Keys to the Kingdom

Lydia Mae

I have three grandchildren and all of them are sisters. Lydia Mae is the eldest, born on May 2, 2014. Her first name is biblical and her middle name is after her maternal great grandmother, Bertha Mae. Mom was always called Bertha Mae by her family and friends, so whenever I accompanied her to the doctor in her later years, the nurse would call for “Bertha,“ which always sounded odd and wrong. In loving memory of Mom, I’ve always called my granddaughter “Lydia Mae” because it seemed right and kept a part of Mom alive through speaking her middle name. Mom passed away May 30, 2015. Interestingly, one life began and one life ended in the month of May, one year apart.

One morning, after spending the night, I entered Lydia Mae’s bedroom to visit with her before I headed for home. I sat beside her on the edge of the bed and she let me look through her journal. I began turning pages and found a four-page writing that grabbed my attention and heart. She had divided her thoughts into three profound headings. I was so deeply touched by her insight, I asked if I could borrow her journal and share it in one of my columns. She gave her permission; so here’s what she penned:

1. Family Matters Most: My family and friends are what matter most. No matter who they are or what they believe in, they matter more than anything in the world. I’m not saying that you don’t need air, water, money, sleep, and food. They all mean a lot to survival, but what is living if you have no one to live with? If you had no family or friends you would be all alone with no one else around. Life would be harder because there would be no teamwork. One person would have to do everything by themselves. It takes years to build things when you alone are doing things. So now we know we all need each other!

2. Treat each other the way you want to be treated: Treat each other the way you want to be treated is the Golden Rule. It means if you show meanness you will get meanness back. If you show kindness then you will get kindness back. So if you want to be treated kindly then you should treat others kindly.

3. Show Love to Everyone: Show love to everyone just means that you should treat everyone the same, no matter what they look like, sound like, or believe in because everyone is human and deserves to be treated like one. Everyone is special because God created everyone different. Even twins are different, but that shouldn’t affect how people are treated. Now you know.

“Happy Mother’s Day” to all who have loved, nurtured, and inspired their children. I am currently reading through a Bible that my late husband gave to his mother for Easter 2018. (This gift was returned to me when she downsized and moved.) Her son wrote this on the inside cover: “To Mom, Happy Springtime!! He is risen as He said! Thank you for your kindness and patience. You have made the world a lovelier place. I love you, Jimmy.” No matter our age, we never outgrow our need for a mother. It’s nice that a  mother’s influence lasts a lifetime.

The Key: Mothers teach and love their children tenderly so life won’t be so hard.

“Write down ‘rubber bands.’”                                                                                                “Too late now.”

“This Ziploc is too small.”

“Something else is on my list.”

“What is wrong with  me?

“Where are those keys?”

“Should have thought about this before.”

“Start calling your friends before you don’t have any.”

To most people, this looks like a conversation I might start with Dave.  In a way, it is, because to him, when he “hears” me, he assumes I am mumbling or not speaking audibly.  If it were that simple! In actuality, it is an ongoing conversation I have with myself.  Yes, that’s right.  I am talking to myself.

The frequency of this annoyance is increasing.  In the grocery store the other day, while trying to decide which cantaloupe to select, a lady nearby said “Pardon?” after I reminded myself out loud that smelling it might freak out an onlooker.  This is becoming a problem.

Instead of talking to myself, I need to be talking to God.  At a Bible study this past week, the leader pointed out something I’ve never considered (not out loud or to myself).  When Jesus sought solitude to pray to God the night before he was arrested, according to John MacArthur in his book Twelve Ordinary Men, the English language does not do justice to what happened that night.

We read that Jesus “continued all night in prayer to God,” but in Greek it means that he spent the whole night in the prayer of God. “The members of the Trinity were communing with one another.”

MacArthur continues.  “His (Jesus’) prayers were all perfectly consistent with the mind and the will of God—for He Himself is God.”  How does that happen?  Was Jesus talking to Himself? (Alas, something we have in common.)

The author continues.  “Jesus in His humanity needed to pray all night, and Jesus in His deity was praying the very prayer of God.”  Have you ever considered that?  Somewhere in that mix was the Holy Spirit, the third part of the trinity, engaged in this shared time spent in the garden.

Can you imagine being able to ask yourself for whatever you want? What would you request?  A new truck?  A favorable diagnosis?  A dream vacation?  A day without the kids squabbling? If you were Jesus, probably not on his list.  He would only ask for something that lines up with what is best from an eternal perspective.

The difference is distressing.  When I’m talking to myself, I’m not talking to God…or Jesus…or the Holy Spirit.  My mind is rambling, flitting from one thought to another, so why don’t I turn those thoughts to prayer?  “Jesus, please help me find my keys.”  “God, is it too late now, or can you turn this situation into a blessing?”  Lord, please help me find time to call my friends.”  “Holy Spirit, what will others think if I smell this cantaloupe?”

You get the point.  At least if I mutter it out loud and get questionable looks, I can tell people that I am talking to God.  Surely no one will complain to management if that’s my response, unless, of course, I actually smell the fruit.  Some things, as we all know, are left better unsniffed.

Had it not been for sporadic, Christian radio and my excitement to join Dave, his daughters and their families, my drive from Kansas to Nevada (the state, not the town) would have caused me great stress.  The second day of my journey, I drove 13 hours, a record for me, the frustration coming because of my attempts to dodge New Mexico’s highway potholes and, being bored, repetitively pushing radio buttons when there was only static in the airways.

On his phone, Dave was able to track my trip, so if I pulled over (like when I thought my tire fell off after hitting a pothole, causing my anti-skid warning light to come on), he would call to make sure I didn’t damage our mini-van or my body.  He did put our son-in-law on the phone to tell me what to do: check under the car for leaks and the tires for alignment, and push a button to turn off the warning light.  A button I never knew existed.

That being said, when I did luck out and found a radio station, I was surprised at the number of radio hosts who spent their time addressing the end times, supporting their ideas with scripture, the war in Israel, and A.I. That seemed to be the discussion for the day, and I began to wonder: Would I make it to Nevada, or would Jesus snatch me up from wherever I was in New Mexico?  According to the radio “experts,” the latter was a very real possibility.

The fascinating study of end times, according to the bible, is called eschatology, and including the 1999/2000 predictions of the world’s end, I’m not sure I have read/seen as many warnings of these final days as I have since Covid. So, what are we to look for?

Matthew 24:6-14 describes Jesus’ prediction to his disciples, sort of his anti-skid warning for all of us.  There will be “wars and threats of wars … famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. … You will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.”

Describing how cold our love will grow, another prediction is found in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 where Paul warns the young pastor of life’s potholes in the last days:  “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”                                                                   

What a list!  Yet, it is hard to deny that that is what we are seeing today.  God has watched us remove Him from schools, homes and even churches.  There is little regard for the sanctity of life, sex before marriage is promoted, mental illness and addictions are at an all-time high, churches compete instead of celebrating others’ successes, celebrities (including television pastors) are idolized, cellphone addiction has replaced relationships, counselors are overwhelmed with people feeling “hopeless” and “anxious,” and joy has all but disappeared, including in the Christian community.

As for what day the end will come, the one thing we do know is that there will be no warning light that we can ignore. We also know that we will not add even an hour to our lives by worrying about when this event will happen (Mt. 6:27), we always are to be ready for Jesus’ arrival (Mt. 24:44) by being self-controlled and sober-minded (1 Peter 4:7), and the Lord is patient, wishing that no one should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

So, the next time a radio host focuses on eschatology, I will find another station, one that addresses what we can do until that time: continue to grow in our faith, love more and trust in God.  Or maybe I’ll just pray.  Yes, I like that idea best.