if Something Can be Lost, I'm Your Man by James Snyder
Now, where did I put it? Oh, hello. I wasn't expecting any readers yet, but, come on in; just
be careful, the ink is still wet. You'll have to excuse me, I'm in the middle of looking for something I've misplaced.
Why
is it, when you don't need something it's always right in your face? Then, when it's needed, it's nowhere to be found.
I
have lost something very important to me and I need it like, yesterday. If I didn't need it, I would be stumbling all over
it. But now, it is nowhere to be found, and I have looked everywhere.
A TALE OF THREE EGGS AND 100 ONE-DOLLAR BILLS by James Snyder
I don't know why, but if anything adverse is going to happen to me it will, invariably, be on a Thursday. Any given Thursday
in the year and you will find me in some kind of a quandary.
I have given some serious thought to going to bed on Wednesday
night and not waking up until Friday morning. But I know if I ever did that the house would burn down on Thursday and I'd
have to get up anyway.
That's not the kind of person I am. I defy the world in general, and Thursdays in particular.
Come quandary or high water, I'm going to get out of bed on Thursday morning just like any other day of the week.
Recently,
I was enjoying a reprieve from my Thursday syndrome. For some time I was toddling along, as carefree as a cat enjoying her
third life with the confidence of six more to come, when it happened.
Save your sympathy until I lay all the facts
before you, and then pour it on.
Last Thursday I was looking for my old shaving kit. I hadn't seen it for years and
for some odd reason I got it in my head that I wanted it. I looked everywhere.
Have you ever noticed when you are looking
for something it is always in the last place you look?
In desperation, I decided to take my life in hand and look through
some of my wife's closets in the back room.
How many shoes can one person wear? Some of those shoes had come in and
out of style 17 times - but you didn't hear it from me. When I thought I had looked everywhere, I happened to notice, in
the back of one closet, a small shoebox different from all the rest. I am, by nature, a very nosey person and without further
thought, I reached for the box and opened it.
When I opened the strange box, I discovered it contained three eggs and
100 $1 bills. For the life of me, I could not understand what it was all about.
I know some things in life just don't
make sense but this was a little ridiculous. What was this box doing in the back room closet?
Not coming to any logical
conclusion on my own, I called my wife and asked if she knew anything about this odd little box. Immediately I could see she
was a little embarrassed about it. I did feel a little uncomfortable. Perhaps I had stumbled onto some secret of hers,
something secretive with sentimental aspects to it.
Finally, she broke down and admitted that for the entire time of
our marriage she had kept this box hidden from me. I don't know how to express it, but I was a little bit hurt. After all,
here was something she had kept secret all these years.
I always believed we didn't have any secrets between us. So,
I asked her why.
She replied, "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." I did not know how a box with three eggs
and 100 $1 bills could hurt my feelings. After all, what kind of person did she think I was? Therefore, I put it to her.
Then
the story came out. "From the time we began in the ministry," she said, "I've placed an egg in the box every time you delivered
a poor sermon."
I looked at her. Then I looked at the box with the three eggs. Then I laughed. You know, one of those
good long hearty laughs that come from somewhere down deep inside a person.
I thought to myself, "what a gem of a wife
I have."
This November I will celebrate 30 years in the ministry and in all that time my wife only discovered three
bad sermons. I didn't say anything at the time, but I know I have delivered four bad sermons during that period.
Of
course, there was that sermon in 1987, but she didn't hear that one, she was at our church camp for the week. I was beginning
to feel a little good about myself (something I should never do) and my preaching ability.
I wonder, how many preachers
can say that in 30 years of preaching every week they only delivered three poor ones? Then I remembered the 100 $1 bills beside
the three eggs in the box. As long as I have known myself, I can't remember a time when I stopped while I was ahead of
the game. Oh, no. I must press on and ask one more question.
"Well, my Dear," I persisted, "where did these dollar
bills come from?"
Again, she hesitated, and then replied a little sheepishly, "Every time I got a dozen eggs I sold
them to the neighbors for $1."
The incident reminded me of something the Apostle Paul said. "Wherefore let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." (1 Cor. 10:12 KJV.)
Falling is inevitable, at least with me. However,
in the next verse Paul gives encouragement. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it." (1 Cor. 10:13 KJV.)
Remember, whenever you have egg on your face, God's towel is always
there - a big towel.
I hope this turns out okay I hope I sleep well I
hope my bills get paid I hope I’m a good employee I hope my boss trusts me I hope I don’t oversleep and
lose my job I hope I don’t get fat I hope I don’t go bald I hope my teeth don’t fall out I hope
my wife loves me I hope I never run out of hairspray on a trip I hope I get to go on some trips I hope I’m
not too vain I hope I’m not too hard on my daughter I hope I’m not too easy on her I hope I can leave
her an inheritance I hope she grows up okay I hope she loves God more than me I hope we can have a pet again some
day I hope it doesn’t chew everything and poop on the carpet I hope our landlord thinks we’re good tenants I
hope we get to go somewhere this summer I hope its not because I overslept and we’re being evicted I hope the
farmers get enough rain this summer I hope it’s not so much that we get an outbreak of mosquitoes I hope our new
brakes don’t fail I hope we never have to find out I hope our car lasts longer than the payments I hope I never
have really bad gas at an important meeting I hope I get to go to some very important meetings I hope when I’m
old people remember me I hope when I’m old I remember I hope I get to mow my own lawn someday I hope I’m
not wearing black socks and Wingtips I hope I never like Fruitcake I hope that someday we know who really shot JFK I
hope the Cubs win the World Series someday I hope they’re playing the White Sox I hope some people will think
this is funny I hope the rest don’t think I need therapy I hope that someday no one will be able to offend me I
hope I’m not lying in a coffin at the time I hope Jesus comes back soon I hope He recognizes me
How To Cash In On Your ‘Ailment Capital' by James Snyder
Right after the president won his re-election bid for the White House, he made an interesting comment.
He said he was going to spend his "political capital" wisely.
At first, I did not understand what he was talking about,
but then I began to think about it. All his work in getting re-elected won him a certain amount of influence with the people
who helped re-elect him.
I never thought of it that way. But it got me thinking about my own situation, so I began
evaluating my capital. It certainly wasn't in my checkbook.
Although I have lots of checks remaining, the bank insisted
I didn't have any capital in my account. According to the bank, the only capital I had was in my name.
As I dug around
in my life, I discovered I did earn capital and I needed to figure out how to spend it wisely.
The capital I'm talking
about is my "ailment capital." My recent illness, which necessitated me going to the hospital, certainly had earned me some
spendable capital. The more I thought about it, the more excited I became, almost like putting on a pair of trousers and finding
a $20 bill in the front pocket.
I was anxious to begin spending my "ailment capital." After all, my illness had cost
me quite a bit and represented a major investment on my part. So now, I intended to get some payback.
My first plan
of action was to tell people about my illness. I had rehearsed my story and knew it well. However, it was then I ran up against
a block wall. It rather caught me off guard, if you know what I mean.
The first person I met set my plan into action.
Carefully I introduced the subject of my stay in the hospital. Much to my bewilderment, they immediately began postulating
on their recent visit to the hospital. According to them, their stay in the hospital was much more serious than my stay in
the hospital.
I slipped into the conversation, when I had the chance, that I experienced the worse headache while in
the hospital.
"Headache?" They almost shouted to me. "You talk about headaches. I had such a severe headache that the
nurse gave me enough pain killer to put 12 elephants out of their misery, and it never even touched my headache. The doctor
told me that it was the worst headache he had ever seen in his entire life."
When they took a breath, I jumped in and
mentioned how high my temperature was.
"High-temperature? You talk about high-temperature; my temperature was so high
they had to put me in a tub of ice cubes for three days before my temperature even came down. The nurse told me that it was
the worst case of high-temperature she had ever seen in her life."
By this time, I was becoming a little discouraged
and wondered if I would ever be able to tell my story. Then I had a brilliant idea. I mentioned that while in the hospital
I suffered a severe case of diarrhea. I could not imagine anybody trying to upstage someone with diarrhea. Boy, was I wrong.
"Diarrhea?
Did you say diarrhea?" I slowly nodded my head in the affirmative.
"When I was in the hospital I had such a severe
case of diarrhea that I stayed on the toilet for 30 days without getting up. My doctor told me it was the severest case of
diarrhea he had ever read about."
By this time I despaired ever cashing in any of my "ailment capital." It seems such
a shame for all that capital to go to waste. I thought I should give it at least one more try.
Refusing to quit just
yet, when the next lull in the conversation came I was ready.
"When I came into the hospital," I chirped enthusiastically,
"the doctor thought I was having a heart attack ..."