Smile or Groan

I guess some days we take life too seriously ... we never know what a day may bring ... there are times that you don't know whether to laugh or cry ........ Our church installed a number of signs indicating special parking for those 65 and over. Many of our "older" folks don't want to admit their age so they won't park there. However, recently several of the signs were bent, apparently from drivers backing into them. Somebody straightened them out. The next week one was bent again. ........ A local church which has held the charter and hosted a Boy Scout troop for many years has let the scouts know that they need to find another sponsor and another location. The reason? The scouts won't allow gay leaders. ........ Friends of ours are serving as teachers in a Christian school in a foreign country. They have worked for many years to raise money and get difficult approvals to build their new school building. However they have been plagued by delays. A few weeks ago the contractor gave them a bill which was $100,000 more than contracted. They protested and he walked out of the meeting, padlocked the doors, and posted guards to keep school officials from trying to complete the work. After several weeks a tentative agreement was reached and they were given access to the building. Now they are finding electrical wiring that has been deliberately sabotaged ........ Then there are the Phillies. They broke their only major losing streak of the season in the final weeks of the season by winning three games at Atlanta. This set a franchise record for season victories and, on the final day of the season, it eliminated the Braves from the play-offs. The Phillies had handled the Braves all year. Their victory then allowed the Cardinals - who had handled the Phillies this year - to sneak in as the wild card. What happened? The Cardinals then were matched against the Phillies and knocked them off. If only the Phillies had lost one of those games to Atlanta they might still be playing today. ........ We led a hymn sing last week at Pinebrook. I asked folks to pray for me because I had a cold and didn't know if my voice would last. I barely finished the first set and our guest vocalists, a family, began to perform. They were told to do two 20 minute segments. After every song the father of the family would look at his watch and announce that they had been given 20 minutes but they still had time for another song. This continued after every song and their first segment went 40 minutes and their second about 45 minutes. Maybe he needs a new watch. As a result, we had little time left to sing hymns at this "hymn sing" and as a result my voice held out. It is funny at times how the Lord answers our prayers. Of course, maybe the farther needs a watch that works! ........ After a few major trades, a player named the Eagles "The Dream Team". Instead, after losing four of their first five games, they have actually become "The Nightmare Team". Pride does go before a fall ...... We recently attended our required training session for the upcoming election. Among other things, they shared mistakes that had been made during the last election. One district used the provisional ballots instead of the regular ones until somebody finally noticed the mistake. Two districts used the wrong voting machines. Another left their numbered list on the tablet and threw the tablet in the trash. They then had to go back through the trash bins to retrieve it. At least there were no "hanging chads". ........ We purchased ten mums to plant around our house and to put on our front steps (see photo). Unfortunately, when we got home we forgot which color was which. So we just guessed as we planted and placed them. It was then a matter of waiting until they bloomed to see what colors had been placed where. But while we generally guessed wrong, we aren't disappointed. Mums are one of God's most beautiful creations ........ And, finally, back to church. On Sunday, during announcements, the pastor held up a set of keys. He announced that they had been found in a car in the parking lot ... the car had been left running. Nobody publicly claimed the keys! Some of us were smiling but one unknown person was probably groaning! Keep looking up, with a smile!