Daddy's Empty Chair.

Post 196 - - - - - Sunday, 29th April, 2007.

Hello Everyone ~~ Another month almost gone - it is hard to believe that
4 months have gone, a third of the year already !! I hope that you are all
enjoying a great weekend and that the weather is kind to you. We were
very lucky to get more rain overnight and have had just over 2 inches, so
that is terrific for the farmers and the water storages. My garden is also
smiling !! So I hope to see lots of growth soon and not just the weeds.

I had a busy day yesterday. I had to tape a football game for my son,
then watch my team frighten the heck out of Brisbane for a good while,
but just losing the game at the end. John had tea with me and watched
until half-time. But there's more - - - no, not steak knives - more sport.

All set at 11 pm to watch Australia play Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup,
but alas it was raining and didn't start for ages (in Barbados) I went to
bed and turned the TV on and waited and watched some of it, and when I
woke this morning it was still on and we won - finally ! Three in a row !!

My two favourite players won awards, Gilchrist man of the match for scoring
149 runs (quickly as he does) and then Glenn McGrath was Man of the Series.
Glenn is retiring after a long successful career, to spend more time with his
wife and 2 children. His wife Jane has had a long battle with cancer, so I do
hope they will have a long and happy life together.

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The story tonight was sent to me by my daughter, Julie and also her daughter
Samantha, the mother of my 2 great grand-daughters. Thanks Girls. Love you.


A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come
and pray with her father.

When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in
bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty
chair sat beside his bed.  The minister assumed that
the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

 "I guess you were expecting me, he said.

 “No, who are you?" said the father.

 The minister told him his name and then remarked,
"I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was
going to show up,"

 "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.

 "Would you mind closing the door?"

 Puzzled, the minister shut the door.

 "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,"
said the man.  "But all of my life I have never known
how to pray.  At church I used to hear the pastor talk
about prayer, but it went right over my head."  I
abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued,
"until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me,
"Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a
conversation with Jesus.  Here is what I suggest.

 "Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of
you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky
because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. "Then just
speak to him in the same way  you're doing with me right now."

 "So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a
couple of hours every day.  I'm careful though. If my daughter
saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous
breakdown or send! me off to the funny farm."

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged
the old man to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and
returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister
that her Daddy had died that afternoon.

 “Did he die in peace?" he asked.

Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over
to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek.
When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead.

But there was something strange about his death.  Apparently,
just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on
the chair beside the bed.  What do you make of that?"

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we
could all go like that."

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.

I asked God for water,

He gave me an ocean.*

I asked God for a flower,

He gave me a garden.*

 I asked God for a friend,

He gave me all of YOU...

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult momentsIseek God.

Quiet moments, worship God

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.
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Sorry the print is so small on that one.
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The next item was sent to me by my friend  Sandy. Thanks
Sandy.

It is called  Martha versus Maxine - - -

Martha's Way --Stuff a marshmellow in the bottom
of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips.

Maxine's Way --Just suck the ice cream out of the
bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake !! You are most
likely lying on the couch with your feet up, anyway.

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the
bag with the potatoes.
Buy Hungry Jack's mashed potato mix, keep it in the
pantry for up to a year.

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan,
use a bit of the dry cake-mix instead and there won't
be any white mess on the outside of the cake.
Go to the Bakery ! They'll even decorate it for you.

If you accidently over salt a dish while it's still
cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the
excess salt  for an instant "fix-me-up"

If you ever oversalt a dish while cooking, that's too bad.
Please recite with me the real woman's motto: "I made it
and you will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes.

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the fridge
and it will keep for weeks.
Celery ??  Never heard of it.

Cure for headaches : Take a lime, cut in half and rub it
on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Take a lime, mix with tequila, chill and drink.

If you have trouble opening jars, try using latex dish-
washing gloves. They give a grip that makes it easy.
Go ask that very cute neighbor if he can open it for you.

Don't throw away that leftover wine. Freeze into ice
cubes to use in future casseroles and sauces.
Leftover wine ?????  HELLO ?????

The trouble with bucket seats is that not everyone
has the same size bucket.

Do you realize that in 40 years, we'll have thousands
of old ladies running around with tattoos.

Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more
comfortable to cry in a Porche than a Hyundai.

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Some jokes that John found for me - - -

An attractive blonde from Dublin arrived at the
casino and bet twenty-thousand pounds on a single
roll of the dice.

She said, "I hope you don't mind, but I feel much
luckier when I'm completely nude."

With that she stripped from the neck down, rolled
the dice and yelled "Come on baby, Mama needs new
clothes."

As the dice came to a stop, she jumped up and down
and squealed, YES!  YES!  I WON.  I  WON !"

She hugged each of the dealers, and then picked up
her winnings and her clothes and quickly departed.

The dealers stared at each other, dumbfounded.
Finally, one of them asked, "What did she roll?"

The other answered, "I don't know - I thought you
were watching."

Moral of this story - Not all Irish are stupid, and
not all Blondes are Dumb, but all Men are Men.
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Last night, my wife and I were sitting in the living
room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a
vegetative state, dependantent on some machine and
fluids from a bottle.  If that ever happens, just
pull the plug."

She got up,unplugged the TV and then threw out my beer.

She's such a bitch !!
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Well I will finish tonight. It has been a battle as I have not been
able to choose the colors or the print size etc etc, Better luck
next time.  Take care, my friends, have a wonderful life. Merle.

Post  196  -- - - - -   Sunday, 29th  April,  2007.
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