"Don't panic," I told myself. "It has to be here somewhere." I was searching for my wedding ring. In 24 years, I had never lost it even for a minute. Now it was gone, and I had no explanation for its disappearance.

This was added to an already difficult day. My morning began with a routine physical gone wrong. The doctor insisted on further tests. As I listened, my head told me it was probably nothing. But as I drove away, my emotions overtook my rational thinking—as a recent widow, I did not like the idea of my children becoming orphans.

The rest of the day was a blur. I drove across town to bring my daughter's purse to her and I forgot it. At the next stop, I signed some legal papers at an office. My eye fell on my ring as I signed, and I wondered how I could ever bring myself to take it off. I held onto the marriage it symbolized.

That evening, each of my children seemed particularly burdened, so I dared not let them know of my health concern.

As I struggled to put dinner on the table, I noticed the ring was gone.

My friend Margie came over to help me look, but found only dust balls under the furniture. She prayed that God would keep it safe, wherever it was. How cruel, I thought, for God to take away my ring on the day I missed my husband the most.

Life had to go on. Eventually, the results of my medical tests came back from my doctor carrying good news. But still no ring.

Weeks later I was walking with Margie. "How are you doing without your ring?" she asked.

"I think I've let go of it," I replied. "If I never find it, it's OK. And if I do, I don't think I'll put it back on. God knew I could not take it off myself."

Two days later another praying friend called.

Her daughter had overheard a boy in her class talking about a ring he had found before Christmas in the school parking lot.

Not knowing how to find the owner, the boy had taken it home and placed it on the nose of a decorative fish, and then forgot about it. It was my ring! So while it was safely taking a journey on a fish, my heart was taking a journey of letting go.

My precious ring now rests in a pretty box. It is a reminder of my lack of perspective and God's ultimate goodness. How many of my losses do I misinterpret as divine cruelty? When the full story is known, I see God's kindness in disguise.

As believers, we sometimes get scared at the thought of sharing the gospel. Many complain that they just don't know how to bring up the subject. Next time you are talking with friends, try some of these questions:

> Where are you on your spiritual journey?
> If you could have a talk with God about anything, what would you ask Him?
> What do you find most and least appealing about Christianity?
> Who is Jesus Christ?
> If someone asked you how to become a Christian, what would you say?
> If you were to die today, where do you think you would go?

These questions can help any Christian get into a discussion about Jesus. Remember to keep asking questions, and really listen to the answers. Focus your conversation on Christ, and stay anchored to the basics of the faith.

Once the spiritual conversation gets started, trust the Holy Spirit to change the person's life.

I am no handyman. Recently it took me three nights to hang some curtains in our family room. Between a traverse rod and valance bar, and literally four sets of directions to interpret, I nearly went insane. My frustrations were all worthwhile when our 2-year-old son, Brenner, exclaimed on the third day, "Those are pretty!"

The night before I began my curtain adventure, my wife, Jennifer, and I invited a family over for dinner. While the wives talked and the children played, I walked around our home with David, showing him some of the projects I wanted to do and some I had already started. Since he is building an extension on his home, I valued his input.

"Did you just move in?" he asked, innocently.

"No," I answered, shame creeping into my voice. "We've been here a year. I am just not handy; nothing like my dad."

"No one is born handy," David said. "Do you think your dad just knew how to do those projects?"

I didn't answer him, but I thought to myself, Well, yes, I did think that.

The truth is, we think the same thing about evangelism. We may say:

"I don't have the gift of evangelism."

"Talking about Jesus just doesn't come naturally."

"I don't feel comfortable discussing spiritual subjects with people."

But, just like David pointed out, my handyman skills will only improve by doing the work. Likewise with evangelism. To borrow from Nike's ad campaign, we need to just do it. We may not say the right thing. We may feel uncomfortable. We may even cause someone else to feel uncomfortable.

But what a thrill to see someone pray and receive Jesus. Moreover, Jesus commands us to tell others about our faith (Matthew 28:18-20). Every step of the way, we need to depend on God.

The day after David left, I started in on those curtains. Eventually I finished. There are still more projects waiting for me to do, but I know now that I can do them. I am a handyman in training.

I grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma, and we imported wild horses from the ranges of Wyoming and Montana. My father, a superb horseman, taught his five sons how to break and ride wild broncos.

An untamed horse can throw you off or take you where you do not want to go. Untamed thoughts can do the same thing. They can take you where you do not want to go and throw you off spiritually. What we think will eventually determine our actions.

Before you and I became Christians, we could not comprehend spiritual truths. But now Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us, "We can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16, New Living Translation).

Although God, in His grace, has given us the mind of Christ, we still may not think like Christ in our daily habits and routine. To do so, our minds must be reprogrammed or renewed. We must not allow untamed thoughts to run wild in our mind. Instead, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we must reject any thought that does not honor God.

To think with the mind of Christ, we need to look at life through the lens of God's Word. Though the world distorts God's truth, we will not be able to experience reality unless we see His point of view as revealed in the Bible.

In July 1999, the nation was gripped by tragedy. While flying at night, John F. Kennedy Jr. lost his bearings, and the plane carrying him, his wife and her sister plunged into the Atlantic. As an amateur pilot, Kennedy was trained only to fly by sight. However, on a foggy night, his vision proved useless.

An investigation speculated that, relying on his senses, Kennedy became disoriented and crashed the plane into the ocean. Perhaps if he had chosen to use and trust the instrument panel, this tragedy could have been avoided.

In a similar way, we cannot always trust our senses or feelings because they may be misleading. In the midst of a dark and complex world, we must rely on the timeless, inspired Word of God. It is our instrument panel. To avoid tragedy, we must trust the Bible rather than our feelings.

Consider how three men of the Bible harnessed their minds to produce godly thoughts.

First, King David nurtured his mind with Scripture. He proclaimed, "I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You . . . . Oh, how I love Your law! I think about it all day long" (Psalm 119:11, 97; NLT). When we interact with this amazing book and allow God's truth to permeate us, we cannot help but be changed. We begin to love what God loves and see reality as He does.

Second, Solomon asked God for wisdom. When the Lord came to him in a dream and told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted, Solomon acknowledged his need for guidance. God not only granted his request for wisdom, but was greatly pleased by his choice.

God's Word promises, "If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:5,6; NLT).

Finally, Paul disciplined his mind to change its focus. The apostle wrote the following exercise program for a healthy thought life: "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8, NLT).

Television, magazines, advertisements and the Internet bombard us with the immoral, violent and obscene. But God wants our minds to dwell on what is righteous, pure and admirable.

An ungodly thought can have far-reaching negative effects. Because we understand the danger, none of us would jump off a building. The consequences of our thought life are not always so immediate, but can be just as serious. What we allow into our minds and what we think will ultimately shape who we are.

As one critical observer put it:

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

"Let me down," I whined as I dangled off the side of the massive rock. "I'll never make it."

"No," said Mary Beth adamantly. "I'm not letting you down until you reach the top."

That's not what I wanted to hear during my first rock-climbing experience. It was difficult, and I wanted to quit.

I wasn't halfway to the top, yet my fingers ached as if they had been chewed. My arms throbbed. My legs felt like heavy gelatin. But Mary Beth stood firm, securing my safety rope.

Suddenly, I heard cheers rising from below. "You can do it!" my friends shouted encouragingly. "Don't give up!"

With renewed determination, I grasped the sharp edge of the rock and pulled myself up a little higher. Once again, I lost my grip.

"I can't do this," I cried.

Mary Beth didn't budge. "Look, you're an inch higher," she said enthusiastically.

Climbing was my only choice.

After several minutes of pain and sweat, I cried tears of joy as I kissed the top of the rock.

That climb reminds me of a believer's relationship with God. When trials arise, we desire to quit because we feel weak and we're afraid of failing. But God holds us safe. We may stumble and dangle as we push onward, but God gives us strength to overcome the obstacle, often providing encouragers.

When we make it, we're stronger. If we give up, we'll never know what God might have accomplished through us.