Huh?

A fellow always stopped at the pretzel stand outside his workplace, place $2 on the counter, but didn't take a pretzel. One day, the stand operator said, "I've got something I'd like to say to you."
"Oh, I know," the fellow says, "You want to know why I put down $2 every day and don't take a pretzel, don't you?"
"No," said the vendor, "I just wanted to tell you they've gone up to $2.50."

Now, can anyone tell me why once we've experienced a blessing for awhile, we begin to assume it's ours by right, and we get upset if it stops. We may never have asked for it. We didn't earn it. But we just ASSUME it will keep on and on. Somewhere it changes from a gift for which we're thankful, and turns into an obligation which we expect to be fulfilled.

How marvelous is God's patience with us, even when we're ungrateful!

How to Travel

A man at the airline counter tells the rep, "I'd like this bag to go to Berlin, this one to California, and this one to London."
The rep says, "I'm sorry, sir. We can't do that."
The man replied, "Nonsense. That's what you did the last time I flew with you."

Thoughts on Temptation

I remember a recurring sketch on some old kid's show called "How NOT to do things." Here are some thoughts on temptation that would have fit there:
.

• I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it. -- Mae West
• The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. -- Oscar Wilde
• I couldn't help it. I can resist everything except temptation. -- Oscar Wilde
• The trouble with resisting temptation is it may never come your way again. -- Korman's Law
• Ever notice that the whisper of temtation can be heard farther than the loudest call to duty? -- Earl Wilson
• Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you. -- Winston Churchill

And a note about how we rationalize our sins, turning vice into "virtue":
.

• I'm not committing adultery; I'm just finding the love I need.
• I'm not living a greedy lifestyle of overconsumption; I'm just pursuing the American Dream.
• I'm not acting unecthically when I cheat my customers; I'm just following the laws of the marketplace.
• I'm not abusing my child' I'm just enforcing a little discipline.

Temptation we can resist. But if we mix it with rationalization, we're headed for trouble. That's a very dangerous combination, and NEVER leads to anything good.

Anyway

The following poem, by Kent M. Keith, was found on the wall of Mother Teresa's children's home in Calcutta, India.

Anyway

People are often unreasonable,

illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you

of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some

false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,

people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,

someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,

they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,

people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,

and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,

it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

A Little Murder

Kids are GREAT ... for ALL kinds of reasons. One mom reports:

One Sunday evening while my husband was away, I was sitting in church with my two boys, ages 2 and 4. I didn't expect that they would listen to very much; I was just content that they were quiet. When the Scripture in Matthew 5:22 "anyone who hates his brother will be guilty of murder" was read, I heard the small worried voice of my 4-year-old say, "Uh-oh."

-- Linda Eberly

A Kid's Take on Love

What kids think it means to truly love someone:

• Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way.
• When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's love.
• Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.
• Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad, but you don't yell at him because you know it would hurt his feelings.
• Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay.
• If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.
• There are two kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them.
• Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they've known each other so well.

Again, I'd like to add one of my own: Love is getting to be the pastor of a congregation like Marion United Methodist Church!!!!! WG

Reasons to Praise

One writer gives us not just food, but an entire meal, for thought:

I am thankful:

• For the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight because she's home with me and not out with someone else.
• For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato because he's home with me and not out at the bars.
• For the teenager who's complaining about doing dishes because it means she's at home, not on the streets.
• For the taxes I pay because it means I'm employed.
• For the mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
• For the clothes that fit a little too snugly because it means I have enough to eat.
• For my shadow that watches me work because it means I'm out in the sunshine.
• For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
• For all the complaining I hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.
• For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I'm capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.
• For my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
• For the woman behind me in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.
• For the pile of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.
• For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard.
• For the alarm that goes off in the early-morning hours because it means I'm alive.
• For the crazy people I work with because they make work interesting and fun.
• And finally, for too much e-mail because I have friends who are thinking of me.

And if I could add one to the list: I'm thankful even when we here at church move through a time of grief together, because it means we can feel, and love, and care, and support, and know God's presence when the pain seems unbearable. WG