John Ortberg, in The Life You’ve Always Wanted, tells about the time that Tony Campolo, the college professor, popular speaker and author, was about to address a college chapel service. Several men from the school gathered with Tony for a time of prayer before he spoke. They circled, knelt, laid hands on him and began to call out for God to bless their speaker. Read More»

Harry was a retiree who had a daily routine that began with breakfast every morning with his buddies at the local greasy spoon. One morning, the waitresses were short-handed and service was moving slower than normal and the man was getting impatient.

“Hey, can you go ahead and bring me my coffee and breakfast?” He ordered the same thing every morning, so the waitress knew exactly what he wanted: two eggs over medium, bacon strips and grits.

His buddy across the table said, “Harry, what’s your hurry?”
Read More»

I was cleaning out my desk and found my “Handyman Club of America” sticker. I remember the day I received it. I usually don’t mess with junk mail, but this piece caught my eye and immediately my self-esteem received a boost.

“Your membership has been approved! You are an official member of the Handyman Club of America. Please keep what you learn here to yourself. Use your special member privileges for YOUR benefit only. Keep any free tools or equipment given to you by the club out of the hands of non-members.” Read More»

Ann Landers told about a man who, every time he got paid, would stick $50 in a shoe box in the back of his closet. He did this for years and accumulated quite a bit of cash.

When he got sick and realized that he was reaching the end, he had a request of his wife.

“I want you to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to promise me that when I die, you will put that shoebox of cash in my casket. I want to see if I really can take it with me.”

She said she would be sure his money was in his casket. Read More»

A lady with a pain in her side went to see a physician. He told her she had appendicitis and must have an operation immediately.

She decided to get a second opinion and went to see another doctor. He told her she had gall bladder trouble and must have an operation immediately.

A friend asked her, “Where do you go from here?”

She answered, “Back to the first doctor. I’d rather have appendicitis.” Read More»

Several years ago, Tom Heymann wrote a book entitled In An Average Lifetime. I’m sure the stats are a little dated now, but it’s still interesting to think about what happens in an average lifetime.

He shared that the average American lives to be 74.9 years old and earns $1.2 million. The average American drives 413,226 miles, and sits in traffic for nine months. In an average lifetime, we spend 49 hours seeing doctors, and 64 hours waiting to see them.
Read More»

Someone said, “Age is a state of mind.” If age is a state of mind, then why does my back go out?

Someone else said, “You’re as young as you feel.” Some days all we feel are our aches and pains, but, hey, don’t dwell on it.

How old are you? Joel Smith suggests an “age barometer” that helps us tell how old we are by tabulating how many changes we’ve lived through. Give yourself one point for each item you remember:

• Blackjack chewing gum

• Wax, coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water

• Candy cigarettes

• Drink machines that dispensed from the top Read More»

Amid the joy of Christmas, there is another side to the Christmas story that is often overlooked. Not everyone was thrilled to learn of the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, especially King Herod, who could not stand the thought of anyone competing for his throne.

Feeling threatened, Herod ordered a massacre of all baby boys under age two. Among the sounds of that first Christmas were soldiers’ threats, baby’s cries, and young mothers wailing in desperation as grief collided with the good news of Christmas. Read More»

The power of a name:The ABCs of Jesus

Several years ago, some members of our Sunday School class were having trouble choosing a girl’s name for their soon-to-be-born first child. They were driving through the north side of Atlanta one afternoon and passed “Melody Lane” and said, “That’s it!”

The baby was a she and her name became Melody Lane. Thank goodness they didn’t pass Honeysuckle Circle.      
Read More»

The day before Thanksgiving, an elderly gentleman in Phoenix called his son in New York and said, “Son, I hate to ruin your day, but I have some news for you. Your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough, so call your sister in Chicago and tell her.”

Frantic, the son called his sister, told her the news, and she exploded on the phone: “Getting a divorce? What are they thinking? I’ll take care of this right now!” Read More»