Isn't It Funny?

 

Funny how a $20.00 bill looks so big when you take it to church,

but so small when you take it to the mall.

 

Funny how big an hour serving God looks and how small 60 minutes are when spent
watching television, playing sports, sleeping or taking a lunch break.

 

Funny how long a couple of hours spent at church are

but how short they are when watching a good movie.

 

Funny how we get thrilled when a football game goes into overtime, but we complain
when a sermon is longer than the regular time.

 

Funny how laborious it is to read a chapter in the Bible

and how easy it is to read 200-300 pages of a best selling novel.

 

Funny how we believe what newspapers say,
but question what the Bible says.

 

Funny how people scramble to get a front seat at a concert,

 but scramble to get a back seat at the church service.

 

Funny how we cannot fit a gospel meeting into our schedule with our yearly planner but
we can schedule for other events at a moment’s notice.

 

Funny how we look forward to that big date on Friday night,

but complain about getting up for church on Sunday morning.

 

Funny how we are rarely late to work, but
always late to church.

 

Funny how we call God our Father and Jesus our brother,

but find it hard to introduce them to our family.

 

Funny how small our sins seem, but how big
their sins are.

 

Funny how we demand justice for others, but
expect mercy from God.

 

Funny how much difficulty some have learning the gospel well enough to tell others, but
how simple it is to understand and explain the latest gossip about someone else.

 

Funny how we can’t think of anything to say when we pray,

 but don’t have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.

 

Funny how we are so quick to take directions from a total stranger when we are lost, but
are hesitant to take God’s direction for our lives.

 

Funny how so many church goers sing “Standing on the
promises” but all they do is sit on the premises.

 

Funny how people want God to answer their prayers, but refuse to listen to His counsel.

Funny how we sing about heaven, but live only for today.

 

Funny how people think they are going to
Heaven but don’t think there is a Hell.

 

Funny how it is okay to blame God for evil and suffering in the world, but it is not
necessary to thank Him for what is good and pleasant.

 

Funny how when something goes wrong, we cry, “Lord, why me?”

 but when something goes right, we think, “Hey, it must be me!”

 

Or wait…maybe all this isn’t so “funny” after all.

 

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken
spirit drieth the bones."
Proverbs 17:22



MILLION DOLLAR SMILE



Each year this organization of men came to the Children's Home Society Orphanage.

All the boys and girls would get two dollars each. The men would take us in groups of five to downtown Jacksonville, Florida, to do some Christmas shopping.

I remember going with this one gentleman three years in a row. He would take us shopping, then he would ask us if we wanted to go to the movies. I remember watching him closely when we got to the theater. I watched him as he pulled out his wallet to pay for our tickets. He looked over at me and just smiled with his great big smile. During the movie he bought us all the popcorn and candy that we wanted. I remember thinking how wonderful it was that someone would spend their own money on someone like us.

We all laughed at the funny movie and had a really good time. The man would laugh really hard and then he would pat me on top of the head. Then he would laugh really hard again and reach over and rustle my hair. I would just look at him, and he would just keep smiling with his great big wonderful smile.

That trip to the movies was the first time in my life that I ever felt as if someone really cared about me. It was a wonderful feeling which I have never forgotten, even to this day, decades later. I don't know if that man felt sorry for me, but I do know this: If I ever win the big lottery, that man will find out that he carried a million-dollar smile.

This is why I believe it is so important that organizations and clubs, such as the Shriners and Jaycees, continue to reach out and help the children who are less fortunate. In my particular case, it was this one man's personal act of kindness that will be remembered for years to come. Just one little simple act of kindness.

It is these little-tiny acts that will insure that when some confused child goes off the deep end one day, he or she will forever remember that small glimmer of kindness that was shown to them by someone. That little speck of hope, that little dim light of goodness that will forever be stuck somewhere in the far reaches of their confused mind.

I thank you, kind Sir, for a memory which I now share with my children and grandchildren fifty years later.

-Roger Dean Kiser, Sr.



A Story to Live By



My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "  Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.

Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savour, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market if I like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my partygoing friends. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what my sister would've done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences or past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing - I'll never know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with - someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write - one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is... a gift from God.

By Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times)

          

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 5:18



Being Rich - True



We prowled through the second hand bookstore, the day after Christmas, just my husband, Louie, our daughters, Jenny and Helen, and me. This was a precious time for us, because we would be splitting up as a family, again, in just a couple of days.

It had been a tough eight months since my husband had retired from the Navy. As plotters and planners, we had manipulated the "military system," while on active duty, as much as we could, trying to prevent a long, dreaded absence from one another. Now, here we were, retired, and we were eight months into our longest separation.

When my husband retired, we discovered that the only job available for him was in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. Our dream was to live out the rest of our lives in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, six and a half hours away. My health had gotten so bad, that it was impossible for me to stay with Louie in the city. We had settled for a separation, praying that a job would become available in the beautiful region that we love.

So, there we were, delaying the inevitable, passing time in a second hand bookstore, before the girls and I headed back to southwest Virginia. We were as broke as we'd ever been, supporting two households; yet we were grateful to be together, and we seized every opportunity for extra hugs, shared daydreams and laughter.

There was only one other person in the bookstore, besides the proprietor, a lovely, well-dressed, woman, about my age. I noticed her clothes, her shoes, and her expensive handbag, and I wondered what it would be like, to be rich enough to walk into a bookstore and have the money to buy any book my heart desired. But we were having so much fun, that I quickly forgot the woman.
We joked as we continued our treasure hunt, clutching our spending money of five dollars apiece, all hoping to be the first to find the oldest, least expensive book. It was a bittersweet excursion. Frequently Louie and I would brush past one another, finding excuses to touch or to give on another's hand an extra squeeze.

Jenny remembered, that there was an ATM machine, not far from the bookstore, and she decided that she needed another twenty dollars that she had squirreled away.

"No fair!" I cried, laughing. "The rest of us can only spend five dollars, and here you're going to have twenty-five dollars?!"

We all laughed, and we began to tease Jenny, mercilessly, but she was able to convince her Dad that she must have the $20, in order to get that irresistible book.

"Come on, Jenny," Louie laughed. "I'll drive you to the ATM."

Then we did another round of hugging and kissing, none of us wanting to be apart for even a few minutes.

Soon Louie and I would be saying "good-bye." We couldn't resist the opportunity to assure one another of our love, and our faith that our separation would soon come to an end. It must have been a curious ballet, this demonstrative family scene, but we were oblivious to what others might think.
Military families seem to fall into two categories: those who look for affectionate opportunities, and those who avoid close contact, because "good-byes" are painful. I have to admit that we're a pretty "huggy-kissy" family, so unmindful of anyone else, we continued to give kisses and hugs all around. In our military career, we had become painfully aware, that anything can happen during even the briefest separation. But now, as I look back, I realize how odd me must have looked.

Finally, in between another hug and kiss, I saw the perfect book for me! It was one hundred years old, and it was on my favorite time period, the Middle Ages. Oh, how I wanted that book! I quickly checked the inside cover for the price, and my heart fell. It was twenty-five dollars! We just didn't have it. I looked up at Louie, already knowing the answer.

He must have wanted me to have that book. I could see the pain in his eyes. Louie reached out and gave me an extra hug. I understood his "honey, we just can't afford it" message. I leaned into his sheltering arms, and I saw that the well-dressed lady was also touching the book that I wanted. Ah well, let her have it. I gave Louie and extra hug, and half serious, I murmured, as my eyes locked with hers.

"Oooohh, I wish I were rich!"

"It looks to me, as though you already are," she said with a smile.

There was a pause that stretched through eternity, and my heart filled with comprehension. I looked up at my husband, and I gazed at my daughters, wrapped as we were in the arms of love, and I knew it. I was rich. Very rich. I quickly turned to thank the woman for her gentle reminder, but she was gone!
Who was she? I'll never know. But what she did for my outlook, was nothing short of miraculous. I will never forget her. Where did she disappear to? I can't say.

Strangely enough, within days, my husband received a job offer in southwestern Virginia. In less than two weeks, he was hired and we moved to the place that is now our home. The job notice had been sent out two days before Christmas, even as we hugged and kissed and wished in that bookstore. Even as I heard the words, "It looks to me, as though you already are," events were already in motion to unite our family.

I am quite certain that it was all part of God's plan, to remind me of what being "rich" is all about... faith, love, family, and friends. And when I get to heaven, I will not be at all surprised to discover that God sent an angel to a second hand bookstore, in Norfolk, Virginia, to give me his richest message, the day after Christmas, many years ago.
-----
© Jaye Lewis, 2003 - Used with permission from author
         

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

The Little Things

It really is the little things
That mean the most of all...
The "let me help you with that" things
That may seem very small
The "I'll be glad to do it" things
That make your cares much lighter,
The "laugh with me, it's funny" things
That make your outlook brighter...

The "never mind the trouble" things,
The "yes, I understand,"
The interest and encouragement
In everything you've planned
It really is the little things,
The friendly word or smile,
That add such happiness to life
And make it more worth while.

Mary Dawson Hughes

 His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

Matt. 25:21 (NKJV)

Laughter Is a Tranquilizer With No Side Effects

Norman Cousins was once asked by a group of physicians to meet with cancer patients at a hospital.  He told how he had lost a quarter in a pay phone.  "Operator," he said, "I put in a quarter and didn't get my number."  She said, "Sir, if you give me your name and address, we'll mail the coin to you."

He recited a full and long litany of all the steps and procedures and expense involved in returning his coin that way and concluded, "Now, operator, why don't you just return my coin and let's be friends?"

She repeated the offer and then asked if he had pushed the coin return plunger.  He hadn't, but when he did, the phone box spewed out close to four dollars worth of change!

The operator said, "Sir, will you please put the coins back in the box?"  Cousins replied, "If you give me your name and address I will be glad to mail you the coins."

The veterans exploded with cheers as Cousins told his story.  Then one of the physicians asked, "How many of you came into  this room in pain?"  More than half raised their hands.  "How many of you in the past few minutes had less or no pain?"  All nodded 'yes.'

Laughter--it's one of the best pain medications ever!

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

Laughter is the Brush That Sweeps Away the Cobwebs of the Heart



In Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Charles Swindoll writes:  "Tonight was fun 'n' games night around the supper table in our house.  It was wild.  First of all, one of the kids snickered during the prayer (which isn't that unusual) and that tipped the first domino.  Then a humorous incident from school was shared and the event (as well as how it was told) triggered havoc around the table.  That was the beginning of twenty to thirty minutes of the loudest, silliest, most enjoyable laughter you can imagine.  At one point I watched my oldest literally fall off his chair in hysterics, my youngest doubled over in his chair as his face wound up in his plate with corn chips stuck to his cheeks...and my two girls leaning back, lost and preoccupied in the most beautiful and beneficial therapy God ever granted humanity:  laughter."

"What is so amazing is that everything seemed far less serious and heavy.  Irritability and impatience were ignored like unwanted guests.  For example, during the meal little Chuck spilled his drink twice...and even that brought the house down.  If I remember correctly, that made six times during the day he accidentally spilled his drink, but nobody bothered to count."

Laughter...what a treasure it is!

A happy heart is a good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

Proverbs 17:22



Humor is to Life What Shock Absorbers are to Automobiles

On a hot June day, Winona and Will had just exchanged their wedding vows and were about to take their triumphant wedding march back down the aisle.  Suddenly Winona's six-foot-tall brother--a groomsman--fainted, and not very delicately at that.  In the course of his falling, he toppled another groomsman and lurched against the best man, nearly forcing him down too.  Two attendants each grabbed an arm of the fallen man and dragged him out of the church, in full view of the 300 guests and a horrified young bride.

Winona had no doubt her wedding was ruined and she would be the laughingstock of the town.  It was all she could do to keep back the tears as she walked down the aisle with Will.  As they neared the back of the church, however, Will burst into laughter--a big, booming, infectious laugh--and Winona had to laugh too.  Soon the entire church was guffawing with gusto.

Winona said many years later, "My first reaction to nearly any situation used to be 'On, no,' but Will's first reaction has always been to see humor of a situation.  I've grown to adopt his point of view.  I figure the very least I can glean from a nightmare is a good laugh and a memorable story to tell later."

Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with singing.  Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."

Psalm 126:2

Laughter is the Best Medicine

The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.

A little girl was eating her breakfast one morning when a ray of sunlight suddenly appeared through the clouds and reflected off the spoon in her cereal bowl.  She immediately put it into her mouth. With a big smile she exclaimed to her mother, "I just swallowed a spoonful of sunshine!"

A spoonful of sunshine just may be the best "soul food" that a person can have in a day.  A prominent surgeon once wrote, "Encourage your child to be merry and to laugh aloud.  A good, hearty laugh expands the chest and makes the blood bound merrily along.  A good laugh will sound right through the house.  It will not only do your child good, but will be a benefit to all who hear, and be an important means of driving the blues away from a dwelling.  Merriment is very catching, and spreads in a remarkable manner; few being able to resist the contagion.  A hearty laugh is delightful harmony; indeed it is the best of music." 

Not enough laughter has never been a problem for me.  I love to laugh and I look for reasons to giggle in most every situation I come across throughout the day.  It's not that I don't have things to be unhappy about, I just choose to find some humor in most everything.  It helps to lighten the load. 

An old poem advises: If you are on the Gloomy Line, the Worry Train, or the Grouchy Track, get a transfer! It’s time to climb aboard the Sunshine Train and sit in one of its Cheerful Cars.

Ah, Those Kids!

Cute Little Girl Reads Psalm 23 - Watch This!

Posted by Joel Chavady

Posted July 8

http://67.227.171.80/videos/2/762/cute-little-girl-reads-psalm-23

If you have been following me for very long you know how much I LOVE children and young people.  I have devoted my life to working with and for them.  My current job is as a program director in a church.  This position allows me the opportunity to work with people of all ages, but it's the youngest that really make my heart sing.  Their innocence is so refreshing.  They have not yet learned all the games that we older folks know and use so easily.  They just are...for good or bad, and that can change in the blink of an eye, they just live in the moment. 

The ease with which they accept life as it comes to them is inspiring.  It's raining outside?  That doesn't change their plans. They can play in the rain.  It's hot outside.  They know how to turn the water on and play in the sprinklers.  As I was walking home from work last night, I watched a group of kids having a great time doing just this.  It was unbearably warm, but here were these kids having the best time running through the water, laughing and playing.  I almost joined in, but my adult self just wouldn't let me.  After all, I wasn't dressed to play in the water.  It didn't stop the children.

After I started back on my way, I began to think about what happens to us.  Where do we lose the 'fun' in our lives?  What makes us decide to be 'grown-ups'?  I will certainly admit that, at the age of fifty-four, I am thankful for the experiences I have had and the wisdom I have gained because of them, but I've also lost some things along the way.  Things that, as I was walking home, I realized I missed. 

Spontaneity-I think I do a pretty good job of just 'going with the flow.'  I am not like my brother, who plans every detail of everything.  I'm not putting him down, it works for him.  It's who he is, but it's not me.  And as I continued to think about it, I realized that I may not plan so much, but I'm not as quick to 'jump into the water' as I was when I was young.  I think first and that is not always a bad thing, but it's not always a good thing either.  After all, what would have happened if I had jumped in the sprinkler with the kids when they asked?  I would have had great fun and I'd have been a whole lot cooler walking the rest of the way home.  I would have looked pretty funny, but I'd have worn a smile all the way!

Laughter-I love to laugh and when I do, most everyone in the building hears me.  But as I was listening to those children giggle and laugh even a couple of blocks away, I began to try to remember when I had had a really good, sustained time of laughter like those children.  You know, the ones that make your stomach hurt and tears come.  It's been a while...it's been too long.  Laughter is good for you!  It releases all those endorphins and it makes you feel so good.  In holistic medicine, some doctors will prescribe, along with your medications, laughter.  We've all read the stories about those people who have helped themselves heal by doing all the medical things and then spending each day watching something that makes them laugh.  Even if it doesn't cure you, you'll feel better.

Simplicity-There was nothing complicated or difficult in what those kiddos were doing.  There was a hose, a circular sprinkler (just like the one we used to run through when I was a kid), the yard, and the kids.  They took what they had and they made fun out of it.  So many times we think we can't do something because we don't have the right equipment or things to do it with.  In reality, we probably don't need all the things.  It could probably be done with far less than we think.  After all, it's the relationships that we remember, much more than the 'stuff.'  We have so many 'toys' today that we all believe to be necessary and for some of our activities these inventions make our lives so much easier.  But they also complicate our lives and I wonder sometimes if life really is better with them. 

Time-As adults we all have our schedules to keep, not just for today but for the next month, the next quarter, the next year.  We carry our phones with our calendars because our lives are so full that we can't make arrangements to do anything until we verify that nothing else is scheduled.  These children didn't care about time.  All they had was this moment and they were making the most of it.  Why is it that adults are so worried about what just happened (I had just come from a meeting that I was dissecting in my mind) or about what is going to happen that we forget to just enjoy this moment.  After all, we will only have this moment right now, this one time.  Once it is gone, it is irretrievable.  We can't make it better or worse.  We can't live it over again.  We can remember it, if we choose to, but we can't live it again.  We had our chance.  I hope we used it wisely.

It was only a few short blocks from these kids and their sprinkler party to my house, but so many things came to mind during that walk.  We adults are so easily sidetracked by our 'adult' activities that, I believe, sometimes we forget to live.  Do I live the life I was intended to live?  This question came to me as I reached the corner at the end of my block.  As I began to make the turn to my house, I looked up in the sky to the east.  There had been no rain, but the humidity was very high.  Over the southeast part of our town was the most beautiful rainbow!  I'm glad I was able to see it!  Thanks, Kids!

I Love to Laugh!

Laughter is good for your soul--and your body!

 ©iStockphoto.com

When was the last time you had a really good laugh?  I LOVE to laugh!  I always have.  Something catches me, and I can chuckle, giggle, and laugh right out loud for the rest of the day, maybe two or three days.  It doesn't take much.  My landlord loves to stop by with his latest joke.  Now these jokes are old, most of them, and sound very similar to the ones I heard when I was teaching school from the kiddos, but he is so excited to tell them and, just like those kids, he waits with anticipation to get my reaction.  He always looks so pleased when I laugh (and I always do). 

I can't imagine living life without a sense of humor.  We all know those people who very seldom smile, let alone laugh.  It's like they're afraid their faces will crack or something if they smiled.  I actually had a lady that told me, many years ago, that she didn't smile because it made wrinkles.  Well, good!  Then when people look at your face they can see how happy your life's been.  (At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

I recently watched a video from YouTube with a baby who laughed because her father was tearing paper.  Now, I didn't find the paper-tearing humorous but it sure was fun to watch that baby!  I watched it several times and I still giggle when I think about that baby giggling and laughing. 

You know, laughter really is good medicine.  It can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity.  There are even laughter yoga clubs now. I had to check them out.  Dr. William Fry, well-known research scientist from Stanford University scientifically proved that 10 minutes of healthy laughter is equal to 30 minutes on the rowing machine. Laughter is the best cardio workout. As an exercise it has similar benefits as compared to other aerobic activities like jogging, dining, swimming, and cycling. Laughter Yoga is ideally suitable for people who cannot walk, have no time to exercise like business professionals, and those who are bedridden.

So, look at all the therapy I've had over the years!  And it was free!  What could be better?  OK, so I have some wrinkles around my eyes...just a few, but the positives far outweigh the negatives and the best part is, it's just fun!  Isn't that the important part?  Remember, it's the only life we've got.  We can choose how we face each day.  Find the humor; laugh at something, laugh at nothing!  It's good for you!