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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 12, 2009
“Cash for Clunkers”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
So we bought the van in 1999.
It was a 2000 Grand Voyager.
My wife kept saying how much she liked “fire engine red,” and this was going to be her first chance ever to pick out a brand new vehicle. So what did she do? She bought a silver van, just like her old silver van.
On Day 1 she declared, “No one is going to eat in my new van.”
Our kids were 12, 10, 8 and 6.
On Day 2 they started eating in the van.
On Day 1,124 my daughter was babysitting the neighbors’ kids. That night she backed out of their driveway and “Where did that mailbox come from?”
On Day 1,565 a boy that was staying with us scraped his handlebar down the side of the van.
Not to be outdone, on Day 1,566 his twin brother got the other side.
On Day 1,828 my son was visiting a friend. That night he backed out of their driveway and “Where did that tree come from?”
On Day 1,969 one of the hubcaps mysteriously disappeared.
On Day 2,020 another hubcap disappeared.
By Day 2,199 my wife had gone from not allowing food in the van to sloshing around pool chemicals in the van.
On Day 3,285 the air conditioner gave up the ghost. But at least the power windows still work.
On Day 3,350 the bottom of the front bumper fell off.
On Day 3,467 I actually saw my youngest hit the curb three times in a row while moving the van from the driveway to the street.
On Day 3,512 the power windows still work – you just don’t know on what days.
Monday my daughter said the van started jerking when she started it.
It now has over 200,000 miles on it. Do they still have demolition derbies?
Ah, but now there is a light at the end of the tunnel – “Cash for Clunkers.”
Wow! The government is giving away money! Just free money – all you have to do is trade in your old clunker for one that gets better gas mileage.
Our old van is the perfect candidate.
So I called the Ford dealership. I asked if our van qualified and he said he would call me back. I’m still waiting.
I called the Mazda dealership. Bad news. It doesn’t matter what kind of gas mileage your van gets. It only matters what the government says it gets, and the government says it gets 19 miles per gallon, one mile per gallon too many!
Yes, that’s right, our old Plymouth Voyager is officially not a clunker.
So my wife texted me. “What do you want to do?”
See, my youngest daughter is now driving a van with bad gas mileage, no air conditioner, and windows that go down but may not go back up. How can you love your child and not give her the very best car possible?
Easy. The same way John Rockefeller bought only one bicycle for his children to share.
See, loving your children does not always mean giving them the very best.
How can that be?
Well it goes back to my goals as a parent. My number one goal is that they have their own relationship with God. And number two is that they grow up to be self-sufficient, autonomous human beings that not only provide for themselves but that also contribute to society.
And one way I encourage them to be self-sufficient is by not handing them everything.
You need transportation? Here is the old van.
Oh, you want something nice? Then here is a newspaper. Look for “Help Wanted.”
Sound cruel?
Not to me. My oldest daughter really wanted a nice car, so at one point she was even working three jobs and budgeting her money to get it. Now she is already a homeowner at 22 years old.
One of my goals is that she be self-sufficient, and I don’t think she would be nearly this far along if I would have just handed her a new car when she turned 16.
Yes, I love my children very much, which is precisely why I don’t just give them the very best sometimes.
Philippians 1 says, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…”
That’s the kind of love I want for my children, the kind that has deep insight, that discerns what is best for each of them.
And sometimes the best way to love your children is to just let them drive the old clunker for a while.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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