Sunday, April 13, 2008

God's Boxes.

Post 436 ~ ~ ~ Sunday, 13th April, 2008.

Hello Everyone ~~ I hope you have had or are having a great
weekend. It has been a nice one for me. Yesterday, I asked
John to take me shopping for some things my cousin Michelle
wanted and he came and did that for me. Thanks John.

Then last night he rang me and asked if I would like to go to a
Farmers' Market at a small town near to Shepparton. I had to
smile when I saw the Welcome to Girgarre, Population 200.
You would get to know everyone there, I guess. We had not
been there before, but found it was very nice with plenty of
stalls with fruit, vegetables, Jams and preserves, Plants and
seedlings. Also an auction of livestock, poultry of all sorts
and sizes, ducks, budgerigars, and a Nanny goat and her kid.
Lots of craft work and tons of jewellery stalls.

John, his girlfriend Heather and I enjoyed the morning and
bought a few bits and pieces. John bought 4 very pretty and
unusual budgies which he will share with Heather. They both
have lots of birds at their houses. I bought a few herbs and
seedlings to plant at the base of my Bird Hotel. I like it, but
do not see many birds enjoying. Three cats come in from the
house next door, and I think they have frightened them away.

Then this afternoon, I watched my football team win their
first match for the year/ We lost the first three, so it was
lovely to watch on the TV. Hope we can win some more.

Now to find something to post ~ ~ ~
This was sent to me by two friends Robyn and Jeanette
so thank you very much. It's a nice one.

God's Boxes.

I have in my hands two boxes
Which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box
And all your joys in the gold."

I heeded His words and in the two boxes
Both my joys and sorrows I stored.
But though the gold became heavier each day.
The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black box;
I wanted to find out why
And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,
Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God and mused,
"I wonder where my sorrows could be."
He smiled a gentle smile and said,
"My child, they're all here with me."

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,
Why the gold and the black with the hole?
"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,
The black is for you to let go."

We should consider all of our friends a blessing.
Send this to a friend today just to let them know you
Are thinking of them and that they are a joy in your life.

A ball is a circle, no beginning, no end,
It keeps us together like our Circle of Friends.
But the treasure inside for you to see.
Is the treasure of friendship you've granted to me.
<><><>

Lady Di
has sent me an article called "For those
of you who just thought you knew everything."
~~ here is a refresher course. Thanks Dianne.

The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a
substitute for blood plasma.

No piece of paper can be folded in half more than
seven times.

Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do
watching television.

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty
years of age or older.

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating
one olive from each salad served in first class.

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
(Since Venus is normally associated with women, what
does this tell you ?)

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up
in the morning.

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung
cancer. So did the Marlboro Man.

Walt Disney was afraid of mice.

Pearls melt in vinegar.

The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro,
Coca Cola and Budweiser, in that order. . . . .

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs . . .but not downstairs.

A duck's quack does not echo, and no one knows why.

Dentists have recommended that a tooth-brush be kept
at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne
particles resulting from the flush.
(I keep my toothbrush in the living room now.)

Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first U.S. president
whose name contains all the letters from the word"criminal."

The second ?
William Jefferson Clinton. (Please don't tell me you're
surprised ??)

And the best for last . . . .
Turtles can breathe through their butts.

(I know some people like that, don't YOU ?)

NOW you know everything there is to know.

Of importance, that is !!!
<><>

Also from Lady Di, Some kid's jokes.

A little girl dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast
as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran,
she prayed, "Dear Lord, don't let me be late."

While she was running and praying,
she tripped on a curb
and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She
got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. As she
ran, she once again began to pray, "Dear Lord, please don't
let me be late . . . But please don't shove me either."
<><>

Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their
fathers. The first boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words
on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, they give him $50."
The second boy says, "That's nothing. My Dad scribbles a
few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, they give
him $100."
The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles
a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it
takes eight people to collect all the money."
<><>

A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would
you do if you had to arrest your own mother ?"
He answered, "Call for backup."
<><>

A Sunday School teacher asked her class why Joseph and
Mary took Jesus with them to Jerusalem. A small child
replied, "They couldn't get a baby--sitter."
<><>

Two boys were walking home from Sunday School after
hearing a strong preaching on the devil. One said to the other,
"What do you think about all this Satan stuff ?"

The other boy replied, " Well, you know how Santa Claus
turned out. It's probably just your Dad."
<><>

Morris and his wife Esther went to the state fair every year,
and every year Morris would say, "Esther, I'd like to ride
in that helicopter."

Esther always replied, "I know Morris, but that helicopter
ride is fifty dollars, and fifty dollars is fifty dollars."

One year Esther and Morris went to the fair and Morris said,
"Esther, I'm 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I
might never get another chance."

To this, Esther replied, "Morris, that helicopter is fifty dollars
and fifty dollars is fifty dollars."

The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks, I'll make you
a deal. I'll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for
the entire ride and not say a word, I won't charge you. But if
you say one word, it's fifty dollars."

Morris and Esther agreed and up they went. The pilot did all
kinds of fancy maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did
daredevil tricks ober and over again, but still not a word.

When they landed, the pilot turned to Morris and said, "By golly,
I did everything I could to make you yell out, but you didn't.
I'm impressed !!"

Morris replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I almost said some-
thing when Esther fell out, but you know, fifty dollars is
fifty dollars."
<><>

I've given up trying to see a film at the cinema. Last night
I bought five separate tickets and still I didn't get in to see the
film.

Every time I bought a ticket and went towards the film theatre,
a stupid man took my ticket and tore it in half . . .so I had to
get another one. Then he would do the same to that one too.
<><>

"I say, old man," said Alan to the host at the party, there's this
rather delectable young chick whom I'm getting along with, if
you know what I mean." He winked, and continued, "And I
wondered if I could use your spare bedroom for a short while."

"No, I don't mind," replied the host, buy what about your wife?"
"Oh, don't bother about her," said Alan, "I'll only be gone a
short while, and I am sure she won't miss me."

"I know, she won't miss you," stated the host, "It's only five
minutes ago that she borrowed the spare bedroom !!"
<><>

A few sayings to finish this post ~ ~ ~ ~

A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines.
~ ~ ~ Ben Franklin.

A good spouse and health is a person's best wealth.
~ ~ ~ Ben Franklin.

A house divided cannot stand. ~ ~ Bible.

A little learning is a dangerous thing. ~~ Alexander Pope.

A man who asks is a fool for five minutes. A man who
never asks is a fool for life. ~ ~ Chinese proverb.

A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience.
~ ~ ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes.
<><>

Enough for tonight, my friends. Enjoy your lives and
spread some smiles around. You never know how much
one will feel better for being the receiver of a smile or a
kind word. Love and best wishes to you all.
Cheers, Merle.

Post 436 ~ ~ ~ Sunday, 13th April, 2008.
<><><>





17 comments:

linda may said...

Merle,
Well Well Well, I got here first tonight, at the top of your list. Ha! Loved the helicopter joke and the little girl on her way to sunday school.
Cheers Love Linda.

Carole Burant said...

Good morning dear Merle:-)

I'm just enjoying my first cup of coffee and visiting my lovely blogging friends. First of all, thank you so much for the You Light Up My Life award, I'm very touched that you thought of me. You definitely light up my life as well:-) I was trying to comment on here a couple of days ago but right in the middle of doing so my cable went out. We were in the grips of a winter storm that day...it looks like a winter wonderland out there. Sigh. Spring is very late arriving here!!

Glad you were able to get out to the Farmers' Market...I love those and am looking forward to our local one opening up.

"God's Boxes" is such a beautiful story and we can certainly learn by it. I found "For those who thought you knew everything" so very interesting...remind me never to ride a donkey! lol Thank you for the chuckles this morning, dear friend:-) xoxo

Lucy Stern said...

Merle, I loved your story about the two boxes, the black one and the gold one. We all need to learn to let our sorrows go and be grateful for all of our joys, a good reminder.

Patty said...

Okay, have a question, if you can lead a cow upstairs, but you can't lead them down, what do they have to do remain upstairs until they die?

Daughter is hoping she gets home today before supper time. They are wanting to look into her bladder first, since she's been having a few problems.

Hope you're having a great sunday. Rainy here.

Gina E. said...

Hi Merle,
I have a booklet about vinegar and the hundreds of things one can use it for. One idea was to splash it around areas where you don't want cats going. Try it around your bird hotel to discourage the neighbours' cats. Our birds are in walk-in aviaries, on which our local cat population love to sit and gaze down at the birds, licking their chops. The birds don't seem to get stressed; I guess they must realise that the cats can't get any closer!

ChrisB said...

Hi Merle
there is an award for you at my place!

Gledwood said...

I've heard a lot of "farmers' markets" in this country sell stuff that's actually foreign-produced! Having said that when I was a doot in the 1970s my naturapathic mother used to drive us to a farm shop in the middle of nowhere to get natural yogurt etc. It was lovely. Hope you had a charming weekend, Merle, take care!

XX

Jim said...

Hi Merle -- Last comment here for a while unless from a library or Internet cafe.

John is very handy isn't he? Not everyone has somebody who will go shopping for them.

Texas oak trees have acorns in just a few years, a lot less than ten. We have lived in our house nine years now.
When we first got here we planted a pin oak that was only two and a half feet high. It has been having acorns every year now for several years, the tree is about twenty-five feet high.
..

Unknown said...

Sounds as if you have had a marvelous time, Merle. May tomorrow go just as well.

megz_mum said...

Farmer's markets are always fun. I like all your little facts, very good!

audrey` said...

Dearest Merle

It's so nice of John =)

"God's Boxes" is so encouraging.
Let go...
and count our blessings.
It's the only to go for true happiness.

(((HUGS)))

Dave said...

Sounds like you had a lot of fun at the Farmers Market Merle!

I love those too.. love to poke around and see what people are selling, getting some fresh fruit or vegetables.. *S*

Patty said...

Good morning Merle, it's Monday 9:00am. Sun is shining today, thank goodness, but still a chilly 32F at the moment. I know Spring is here someplace. LOL.

I forgot to say thank you for the award, I put it on my blog in place of the first one you had given me. Again, thank you.

Jeanette said...

Hi Dear Merle,Yippee on Carlton having a win, Tigers also had a win.
Nice that John was able to take you to the Farmers Market were you could purchase all that lovely fresh produce....
I just love the Gold and black boxes .
Great post.You always end my day with a smile,ive just got in from bowling, and im off to bed early tonight after having very late nights over weekend, Take good care Merle... Love JAN

Lady Di Tn said...

Merle
Thanks again for sharing my emails with others. I love God's Boxes and must copy it and put it on my post.
Sounds like you had great fun in the town of 200. I wish you had taken some pictures to share with us.
I smell it and hear it but as of today the feel of it is not here. It is Spring. Peace

Gledwood said...

Still adore yogurt in the 2nd half of my 3rd decade!

XX

Renie Burghardt said...

Dear Merle,

I am so late with catching up. My weekend was cooler but at least rain and storm-free. Girgarre sounds like a nice little small town. I'm glad you had such a nice outing with John and Heather. And hurrah for your football team!

Oh, God's Boxes is beautiful! And the list of information in "For those of you who thought you knew everything," is amazing! I didn't know oak trees had to be fifty to have acorns, but I had heard about Walt Disney being afraid of mice. However, most of the other facts on the list were new to me. And I learned where not to keep my tooth brush! LOL.

Funny jokes as always. Poor Esther! LOL. And the quotes were good ones!

I am sorry I am so late, dear Merle. I do hope your week has been going well, and the weather has remained pleasant. Take good care, and God bless!

Love,

Renie