One of the misconceptions about being a Christian is non-Christians think we don’t know how to have fun or have a sense of humor. Trust me, if the Big Guy can have a sense of humor when it comes to dealing with us mere mortals, so can we.
The difference for Christians is we don’t have to debase ourselves or others to generate a smile. Laughter at life or ourselves is a gift from God.
So, let’s smile a little!
The Photo Session
The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture. “Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, ‘There’s Jennifer, she’s a lawyer,’ or ‘That’s Michael, he’s a doctor.'”
A small voice at the back of the room rang out, “And there’s the teacher, she’s dead.”
And now for the bonus …
Christmas Rebuke
After finding the door to the garage left open, Mom rebuked her daughter. “Were you born in a barn, Heather?”
“No, but Jesus was.” (Well played, young one… well played!)
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: [Humanity] has unquestionably one really effective weapon — laughter.
But I am ahead of myself a little. The pageant’s perennial director Helen Armstrong (Sumer Embry) falls and breaks her leg and all the parents point to Grace Bradley (Robin Bruce) to carry on. She reluctantly agrees after soliciting help and support from her husband Bob (Brett Riley).
Production credits go to Amber Turner, producing artistic director, stage manager, sound designer, and light board operator; Lynne Gilcrease, director; Debbie Lanham, music coordinator; Robin Bruce, dance choreographer; Patrick Duncan, lighting designer; Brett Riley, costume/wig designer; Julienne Topmiller, sound board operator; and Sarah Herron Photography, photography.
From birth to age 12 seemed like it took 20 years.
Because we sin, we are in need of forgiveness, both from God, and from one another. But forgiveness is not enough. We need even more than that from God. We need a blotting out of our sins, a removal of them from our life record. In the Psalm 130:3-4 we read, If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You. So, we count on the Lord not only to not count our iniquities, but to obliterate them altogether.
Again, it is amazing how much ground is covered by this simple prayer — forgiveness, repentance, confession, and ultimately hope in God’s mercies is covered in this verse of prayer, Forgive us our trespasses. Of course, it takes faith and humility to come to God in sincere repentance. And this is what we should call to mind, at least once a day — our sins, our need for repentance, a desire for true repentance (improvement in at least one area of our life) and faith in God’s ability to forgive our sins when we come to Him in repentance.
Joe will be having a colonoscopy Wednesday.
We come to You, Lord, because prayer is the least yet the greatest thing we can do for each other. When two or more are gathered in Your name, we confidently know You are with us. What better company can we have? You reign and we trust You! We may be broken and battered but know You heal and quiet the soul. You are the source for all that happens in our lives. We thank You for the progress being made. We thank You for the many blessings we have received this week — some we unfortunately didn’t notice. Nonetheless, those blessings are ever-present in our lives. We thank You for healing. We thank You for slowing us down. We thank You for providing us our daily needs — no more and no less. We thank You for being with us, listening to us, walking with us on this journey. We thank You for the support of our family and friends … for seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary — sunrises, sunsets, flowers, kids laughing, adventures, good news amid the bad news. We know we can come to You with our concerns and they will be heard. Through Christ all things are possible. We lift up those family members and friends who are battling various physical, emotional, financial, career or spiritual issues and ask not for Your guidance and healing (although that would be welcomed) but to keep reminding us we are not alone in our battles. Specifically we lift up Joe, Angelina, Grace, Carly, Kristeen, William, Ary, Noelle, Karen, Dale, Juan, and all those needing Your healing touch. We pray for the families of all those You have called home. We grieve … You celebrate. We pray for obedience to Your Will so Your “Son” Light shines through us through the power of the Spirit. And we come to You through the confidence of the words taught by Your Son Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
I’ve said many times, it’s not the day, but the discipline. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Friday {the chosen date for most}, Saturday, Sunday or the middle of next week. The community responds to carve out five minutes of unscripted writing, post it, link up at our special community on Facebook at 
Rush. Rush. Rush. We rush to grow up. We rush through assignments. We get caught in the morning or evening rush. We’re constantly rushing through life … especially at this time of year.
Then came Thanksgiving. And something changed. Maybe it’s been the geography. After all, Kentucky is not quite the winter wonderland as my northern stops. There is still Christmas — but it’s not 24/7. Life goes on. There are ads, not just the glitz and glitter of Christmastime pitches but everyday advertising as well {or I might be more conscious of them}. You can find all-Christmas radio stations, but other stations are continuing to play their regular playlist, perhaps with a Christmas song or two thrown in. There is always Hallmark and Lifetime for the Christmas fix, although I admit I haven’t watched a Christmas movie since just crossing the Ohio River {Hallmark executives, don’t count this lapse against me}. There are some twinkling light shows around — including one right around the corner — but I don’t see carloads heading there. I’m sure towns and villages have community decorations. Fountain Square Park in downtown Bowling Green, KY, had lights on the trees and festive decorations over the arch … but it was daytime when I visited so I couldn’t appreciate them as much. Even in my son’s residential neighborhood, a circle with close to 100 homes, I haven’t spotted one — not one — even modestly decked out in Christmas attire. I have spotted some straggling pumpkins, though.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a Christmas all year long type of guy. But Wednesday I found myself watching the impeachment hearings {yawn, yawn, zzzZZZ} when I could have logged into Hallmark. Even this morning I had the congressional activity and reaction as my background noise {really! … not political?} instead of a music channel piping in Yuletime music.
The Doctor’s Story
Cat (
Following is the schedule I have as of today:
Dec. 13
The Light 