Friday Funny

Those of you who know me know that I love humor.  I love to laugh and love to see others laugh. We all could use more laughter in our lives. Even the Bible makes mention of this.

Proverbs 17:22 CSB

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

For this reason one of my blog posts a month will be devoted to humor in some way. More than likely it will be the last one of each month. My hope in doing so is to bring a little joy to you and maybe even put a smile on your face.  

With that said, here is my first Friday Funny...

A little girl asked her mother, “How did the human race begin?”

 The mother answered, “God made Adam and Eve and they had children, and so all mankind was made.”

The next day, the little girl asked her dad the same question, “How did the human race begin?”

The father answered, “Many years ago, there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.”

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, “Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God and dad said they developed from monkeys?”

 The mother answered, “Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.”

 

 Until next time...enjoy the journey,

Ray

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Joy Suckers - Things

In my last blog post I talked about the various people who are joy-suckers in our lives. That is, they can suck the very joy out of our lives. The sad thing is we often give them the straw to do so. If you have not read last week’s blog post I encourage you to go back and read it. 

This week I want to address the things that suck the joy out of our lives. More than likely each of us has faced one or more of these things in our lives at one time or another. 

As depicted above I am referencing fear, anxiety, comparison, despair, discontentment, regret, worry, resentment, busyness, denial, shame, anger, frustration, exhaustion, guilt, perfectionism, depression, weariness, failure, loneliness and the list could most likely go on and on. 

To be honest, I have personally experienced most of these joy-suckers at various points in my life. Some I experienced in my youth and early adulthood. Others I experienced as I grew older. Still others I have experienced in the last few years. Some may call it “the seasons of life” but I reject that outright.

Based on my experience, there are people and situations in your life that bring these joy-suckers upon you. It often happens without you realizing it. Many of these joy-suckers are intertwined with others. Sometimes you find yourself so deep into or surrounded by these joy-suckers that it becomes your “norm”. 

I’m here to tell you that these joy-suckers don’t have to be your “norm”. You really do have a choice in this matter. Be determined. Identify the things that are sucking the joy out of your life. Take steps to banish them from your life. Some may be as simple as unlearning a habit. While some you will need to make a conscious effort to remove. Some may even need professional help to shed. The important thing to know is that help is available and you must take the first step.

Jesus said, A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10 CSB).

I encourage you to remove these joy-suckers from your life and walk in the abundant life God has for you. You’ll be glad you did. 

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

Thanks for taking your time to read and share this blog. If you know of someone who would be encouraged by this blog, please feel free to forward  a link or use the icons below to repost or forward this blog.

Check out my website at www.rayspellbrink.com

Joy Suckers - People

 

There are people in this life who will cross your path that will suck the very life out of you if given the chance. They can suck the joy right out of you by their words, attitudes and deeds. These people, in general, are not happy people. They lack the joy of the Lord in their lives.

Nehemiah said, “...Do not grieve, because the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10 CSB). We know there is nothing quite like having the joy of the Lord in our lives. It’s powerful. There is great strength in the joy of the Lord  

I first heard the term “Joy-Sucker” at a pastors’ meeting in St. Louis over 20 years ago. The proverbial light bulb popped on as the speaker began to talk about people who are joy-suckers. It really resonated with me. I had been dealing with people like this. The challenge was very real.

Let’s look a little closer at what a joy-sucker is. They are people in life who have opinions about everything - negative opinions, that is. These people will tell you why it can’t be done and generally suck the joy out of every endeavor you set you hand to do. They squash dreams, plant doubt and make us want to run in the opposite direction as fast as we can.

Dealing with joy-suckers can certainly be challenging. This is especially true if it is a friend or family member. I pretty much dismiss the joy-suckers I encounter on social media. It seems social media is a breeding ground for them. 

Don’t be an enabler! Don’t give someone the wherewithal to suck the joy and life out of you. Life is too short to walk this path. You control this. Don’t allow it to be done to you. This may entail having some serious conversations with the joy-suckers in your life. It could even come down to severing these toxic relationships in your life.   

I believe it is equally important that we search inward to see if we have become a joy-sucker. No one needs a joy sucker in their life. I have determined I don’t want to be a joy-sucker myself. I desire to have the joy of the Lord in my life. I want to be an encourager to others. Not a joy-sucker. 

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

Thanks for taking your time to read and share this blog. If you know of someone who would be encouraged by this blog, please feel free to forward  a link or use the icons below to repost or forward this blog.

Check out my website at www.rayspellbrink.com

Mother’s Are Special

 

Mothers are special. If there was ever a people group that deserved special recognition along with their own holiday it is mothers.

Have you ever wondered about the origins of Mother’s Day as we recognize and celebrate it here in the United States?

Mother’s Day is a holiday in honor of mothers that is celebrated in our time throughout the world. In its modern form the holiday originated in the United States, where it is observed on the second Sunday in May. Many other countries also celebrate the holiday at this time, while some mark the observance at other times of the year. 

“All that I am or hope to be , I owe to my Angel mother.”

- Abraham Lincoln 

Anna  Jarvis of Philadelphia, whose mother had organized women’s groups to promote friendship and health, originated Mother’s Day. On May 12, 1907, she held a memorial service at her late mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia. Within five years virtually every state was observing the day. In 1914 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day a national holiday. Although Jarvis had promoted the wearing of a white carnation as tribute to one’s mother, the custom developed of wearing a red or pink carnation to represent a living mother or a white carnation for a mother who was deceased. Over time the day was expanded to include others, such as grandmothers and aunts who played mothering roles. What had originally been primarily a day of honor became associated with the sending of cards and the giving of gifts. In protest against its commercialization, Jarvis spent the last years of her life trying to abolish the holiday she had brought into being. 

Mother’s Day Fact - More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent. 

 

If your mother is still alive you are blessed. When is the last time you had a chat with your mother? How long has it been since you spent some time with her one on one time together with her?

“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in it’s path.”

- Agatha Christie 

I encourage you, today, to put forth that effort to let your mother know she matters and she is important to you. Pick up the phone and call her. Better yet, why not take her out and spend some quality time with her over a meal or even soft drinks? It’s not so much what you do. It’s about taking the time to be with her and letting you know you love and appreciate her.

Yes, mothers are special. Don’t wait until she’s gone to let your mother know how much she means to you.  

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

Thanks for taking your time to read and share this blog. If you know of someone who would be encouraged by this blog, please feel free to forward  a link or use the icons below to repost or forward this blog.

Check out my website at www.rayspellbrink.com