Theodora
05-11-2006, 01:41 AM
...has been a favorite scripture of mine. I trust you folks already know this--or know the gist of it. HOWEVER, sometimes it's HARD to keep moving through the variety of emotions or...if in a painful period...to find what "lessons" there are to be learned in THAT moment without wanting to rush through it. (And no....that doesn't mean that we're supposed to "wallow" in our pain, either!) More than that...it's hard to be feeling one thing when the "world" seems to be on an entirely different track. We hunger for validation....even in our pain. Various quotes come to mind....Among other things..."April is the cruelest month...." said the poet, mourning the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, as I recall.....but I'll not follow that thought right now.
I am aware of some DEEP, deep pain on this forum as I've been trying to follow the posts and I'm also aware of how difficult it is to find a "right" way to help us all "process" those feelings and thereby engage in true dialogue. Again....I have various thoughts on that too....but won't delve into that right now.
In any case, though I know I'm taking a risk here by the following offering, I came on a rather nice site of Christian humor and I thought I'd give you the link, if you're interested. If that's not your "cup of tea" at the moment....just ignore it. As always, remember the basic rule of thumb in interaction is to "take what works and leave the rest."
So....with that preface, here's one of the stories I sort of liked...hope it tickles your funny bone a bit too and that in your laughter, you can also feel the love of God.
He Who Tells the Best Story...
A clergyman was walking down the street when he came upon a group of about a dozen boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.
The group surrounded a dog. Concerned lest the boys were hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing with that dog?"
One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."
Of course, the reverend was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the reverend was beginning to think he'd gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, give him the dog."
From the website
http://www.experiencefestival.com/spiritual_jokes_and_spiritual_humour
Or....what about....
The Atheist
An atheist was spending a quit day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by a three-headed monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow them both. As the men sailed head over hells, he cried out, "Oh my God! Help me!" At once the ferocious attack scene froze in one place, and as the atheist hung in mid air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, "I thought you didn?t believe in me!"
"Come on God, give me a break!!" the man pleaded. "Two minutes ago I didn?t believe in three-headed monsters either!"
Though not really in the strictly "humorous" category, the following is also offered on the site. If you've not already seen this, do check out the link at the bottom of the quote for the reference to this as presented on a website which features BEAUTIFUL illustrations/pictures of the natural world as a setting for these thoughts.
The interview with God.
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
"So you would like to interview me" God asked.
" If you have the time," I said.
God smiled. "My time is eternity.
What questions do you have in mind for me?"
"What surprises you most about humankind?"
God answered...
"That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again."
"That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health."
"That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future."
"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived."
God's hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.
And then I asked...
"As a parent, what are some of life's lessons
you want your children to learn?"
"To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved."
"To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others."
"To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness."
"To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them."
"To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least."
"To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings."
"To learn that two people can
look at the same thing
and see it differently."
"To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves."
"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.
"Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?"
God smiled and said,
"Just know that I am here... always."
See the poem animated
The interview with God.
http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/
+ + +
Grace and peace to you all this night/this day.
Theodora
I am aware of some DEEP, deep pain on this forum as I've been trying to follow the posts and I'm also aware of how difficult it is to find a "right" way to help us all "process" those feelings and thereby engage in true dialogue. Again....I have various thoughts on that too....but won't delve into that right now.
In any case, though I know I'm taking a risk here by the following offering, I came on a rather nice site of Christian humor and I thought I'd give you the link, if you're interested. If that's not your "cup of tea" at the moment....just ignore it. As always, remember the basic rule of thumb in interaction is to "take what works and leave the rest."
So....with that preface, here's one of the stories I sort of liked...hope it tickles your funny bone a bit too and that in your laughter, you can also feel the love of God.
He Who Tells the Best Story...
A clergyman was walking down the street when he came upon a group of about a dozen boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.
The group surrounded a dog. Concerned lest the boys were hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing with that dog?"
One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."
Of course, the reverend was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the reverend was beginning to think he'd gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, give him the dog."
From the website
http://www.experiencefestival.com/spiritual_jokes_and_spiritual_humour
Or....what about....
The Atheist
An atheist was spending a quit day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by a three-headed monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow them both. As the men sailed head over hells, he cried out, "Oh my God! Help me!" At once the ferocious attack scene froze in one place, and as the atheist hung in mid air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, "I thought you didn?t believe in me!"
"Come on God, give me a break!!" the man pleaded. "Two minutes ago I didn?t believe in three-headed monsters either!"
Though not really in the strictly "humorous" category, the following is also offered on the site. If you've not already seen this, do check out the link at the bottom of the quote for the reference to this as presented on a website which features BEAUTIFUL illustrations/pictures of the natural world as a setting for these thoughts.
The interview with God.
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
"So you would like to interview me" God asked.
" If you have the time," I said.
God smiled. "My time is eternity.
What questions do you have in mind for me?"
"What surprises you most about humankind?"
God answered...
"That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again."
"That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health."
"That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future."
"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived."
God's hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.
And then I asked...
"As a parent, what are some of life's lessons
you want your children to learn?"
"To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved."
"To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others."
"To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness."
"To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them."
"To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least."
"To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings."
"To learn that two people can
look at the same thing
and see it differently."
"To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves."
"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.
"Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?"
God smiled and said,
"Just know that I am here... always."
See the poem animated
The interview with God.
http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/
+ + +
Grace and peace to you all this night/this day.
Theodora