From a Peanuts Cartoon: Snoopy speaking to Woodstock, "You should get a job working in a tree." Woodstock appears to be ambivalent. Snoopy delivers the punch line, "You could be a branch manager, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!!!!"

The world marches on and most of us find ourselves doing somewhat the same as we embrace another day here on the planet. This one happens to be Thursday, September 21, 2017. The way things are going these days, a whole lot of us find ourselves doing our best to cope. (Example: To face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties, especially successfully or in a calm or adequate manner.) It does help to maintain a sense of humor along the way. It really does. Laughter can be medicinal. That my friend is in the Bible. I want to share a few random quotes about laughter to help emphasize its value. Many of them are anonymous. “A laugh is a smile that bursts.” “Laugh as much as you breathe and love as much as you live.” “Nothing shows more of a man’s character than that which he laughs at.” “Earth laughs in flowers.” “The person who learns to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” “Laughter is the shock absorber that helps ease the blows of life.” “Laughter is the closest distance between two people.” “Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.” “Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart.” And finally, the one quote that should make us all take note as found Proverbs 17, verse 22: “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” Let’s try not to have too many dried bones! Amen.

Since I am still dragging just a tad, I'm left to follow the instructions on the frozen orange juice container: Concentrate. You're saying that isn't a suggestion, it has to do with the form of the juice. Wow! You learn something new every day. Okay. Just kidding on that one but life is often filled with riddles and conundrums. We are left to ponder things like why does glue not stick to the inside of the bottle? or Can a fat person go skinny dipping? or Why is the word abbreviation so long? or If a book about failures does not sell, is it considered to be a success? and finally a real dilly: We can calculate the speed of light but why don't we know the speed of dark? So many questions that spin around with the answers ever elusive. We learn over time to never argue with an idiot because doing so always brings you down to their level and then they beat you to a pulp because of their experience. Life is tough, don't you think? But what would it be without a smile now and then? I've known a few folks who tried to go without much smiling but believe me, it's not any way at all to live. I'm thinking about a particular fellow I know. He does drag a black cloud with him wherever he goes. He's been fairly successful in life. He owns a lot of stuff. I know he was raised up in a Bible believing Church but he hasn't been a part of that scene for most of his adult life. In hearing him talk, I know he loves his family, however, I can't imagine they would enjoy being around him. I try to encourage him but it's still a work in progress. My point? One more time, life is too short folks to live without joy. Someone told me about the way to have joy. J-esus first, O-thers next, Y-ou last.

Hey, you can even find some comedy on the local news broadcasts. I hear more and more people saying they never watch the news because it's just too depressing. What about the weather people? They can be entertaining now and then. Lately, they have one thing to talk about, in addition to the hurricanes, flooding, global warming, tornadoes, wind damage, and similar kinds of weather-related stuff. The ongoing topic centers around the continued heat wave we are experiencing here in late September. Yep. We we are still living in the 90+ range. One day this week it was so hot and humid I climbed out of my truck and waited for my glasses to unfog. I waited. I waited. Then, I waited some more. I finally yanked out my handkerchief and cleared them myself. You learned something? That I still carry a pocket handkerchief? That would be true. Although thinking about it, while I do carry one, it is only very rarely ever used. I will admit that I notice when the weather folks miss their forecast entirely. That's just something I find to be amusing. I know that some likely think I am too hard on the weather people and I might be, but they do offer an opportunity to smile as they tell you today what happened yesterday, but, they never mention how they didn't mention it in their forecast yesterday. That to me tells us that they really don't know everything. Anyway, I recommend that we find humor wherever and whenever we can. And, better yet, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, allow Him to be the source of your joy each day. Joy is not always laughter but what a great combination whenever you can exercise them both on the same day! Now that, my friend, is a blessing! I was finished some time ago but didn't stop my typing. Lord willing, I will do my best to show up tomorrow with whatever ends up hitting the electronic page. May God bless. Amen. .......More later..