Do You Know God?

I think that for myself there are two compliments that are worth more than gold to me.

The first compliment is “I can see Christ in him.” I do not think that there is a greater compliment than that! That would humble every Christian.

The second compliment is to hear our children say the following:

“When my son was a small boy playing with his buddies in the back yard, I overheard them talking one day — and the conversation was, amusingly, one of those ‘My dad can whip your dad’ routines.

“I heard one boy proudly say, ‘My dad knows the mayor of our town!’

Then I heard another say, ‘That’s nothing — my dad knows the governor of our state!”

Wondering what was coming next in the ‘program of bragging,’ I presently heard a wonderfully familiar voice (that of my own little son), saying, ‘That’s nothing — my dad knows God!”

“I swiftly slipped away from my place of eavesdropping with tears running down my cheeks. I dropped on my knees in my room and prayed earnestly and gratefully, ‘Oh, God, I pray that my boy will always be able to say, “My dad knows God.”

“Do you know God?” “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (I John 2:3)

What Is A Calorie?

Life is full of questions. We often wonder what are the things that affect our lives in a positive way and a negative way.

For example, I hear on television every day, “Calories will make you fat.” “We must count our calories.”

Well, I have never seen a calorie. Does it make a noise?

Well, I just had a good friend who is wise in many ways tell me what a calorie is. This is so important that I wanted to share it with my readers who are as concerned about calories as I am.

Wanda Lou said that calories are the little gremlins that get into your wardrobe at night and sew your clothes tighter … Well, my closet must be infested with those little buggers.

So Glad You Called

I want to thank Mattie L. Glenn for sharing with me a humorous article she recently read in the Herald Journal. Bob Reynolds of Tryon, N.C., strikes both funny bones with the tale of two high school classmates at a reunion marking 60 years since they graduated.

“He was a widower, and she was a widow. They had a wonderful evening. Their spirits were high. The widower threw admiring glances across the table. The widow smiled back.

“Finally, he picked up courage to ask, ‘Will you marry me?’

“After just a few seconds of consideration, she answered, ‘Yes. Yes, I will!’

“The evening ended on a happy note for the widower. But the next morning he was troubled. Did she say yes or did she say no? He could not remember. He went over the conversation of the previous evening, but his mind was blank. He remembered asking the question, but for the life of him he could not recall her response. With fear and trepidation, he picked up the phone and called her.

“First, he explained that he could not remember as well as he used to do. Then he reviewed the past evening. As he gained a little more courage, he inquired of her, ‘When I asked if you would marry me, did you say yes or did you say no?’

“‘Why, you silly man, she said. ‘Yes. Yes I will!’ And I meant it with all my heart.’

The widower was delighted. He felt his heart skip a beat.

Then she continued, ‘And I am so glad you called because I could not remember who asked me!’”

Are Our Judges Completely Fair?

Many people wonder about our justice system today. It seems that sometimes the “scales of justice” are not balanced. But here is one judge who dispenses “balanced justice.”

A judge enters the courtroom, strikes the gavel, and says, “Before I begin this trial, I have an announcement to make.

“The lawyer for the defense has paid me $15,000 to swing the case his way. The lawyer for the plaintiff has paid me $10,000 to swing the case her way.

“In order to make this a fair trial, I am returning $5,000 to the defense.”

Birthdays

The following are celebrating their birthdays this week: Norma Henderson, Gerald Inabinet, Amy Goins Griffith, and Ruth Gregory on Sunday, Oct. 21; Anne Moore (our neighbor) on Monday, Oct. 22; Donna Sue Greene, Mack Ochiltree, and Joan B. Lawson on Wednesday, Oct. 24. I want to wish each one a very Happy Birthday and may God bless your day richly.

H-m-m-m-m

A woman was asked by a coworker, “What is it like to be a Christian?”

The coworker replied, “It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.”

Thank You

to the special folk who call me and write to me to tell me that this journal is a blessing to them. I humbly receive those compliments in the name of our Father.

Did you know that the BUFFALO NEWS FOR YOU is sent weekly as far north as Indianapolis and as far south as Florida?

Someone once said when he was complimented, “Do not clap. Just throw money!”

Of course, I am always happy to hear from my readers and especially so when they are being blessed and uplifted. I also appreciate the contributions that my readers make to this journal. If you have jokes, illustrations, or whatever, I am happy to read them.

Our Condolences

Our condolences go out to the following families in the passing of their loved ones.

Mr. Rodney Lawson, 56, husband of Melanie Lawson, 403 Springdale Drive, Union, S.C., died Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012.

Mr. Donald Curtis “Duck” Sanders, 67, husband of Jancie Toney Sanders, 2038 Main St., Buffalo, S.C., passed way Sunday, evening, Oct. 14, 2012 at Mary Black Memorial Hospital.

It is during times as this that our family and friends mean so much.

Wedding Celebrations

Congratulations to our wonderful neighbors, Don and Anne Moore, who celebrated their wedding anniversary on Wednesday, Oct. 24. They are truly a sweet couple!

About Churches

A church newsletter (not from a church in our county) mentioned a man who visited 18 different churches on successive Sundays. He was trying to find out what the churches were really like.

He said, “I sat near the front. After the service, I walked slowly to the rear, then returned to the front and went back to the foyer using another aisle. I smiled and was neatly dressed. I asked one person to direct me to a specific place: a fellowship hall, pastor’s study, etc. I remained for coffee if served.

“I used a scale to rate the reception I received. I awarded points on the following basis: 10 for a smile from a worshiper; 10 for a greeting from someone sitting nearby; 100 for an exchange of names; 200 for an invitation to have coffee; 200 for an invitation to return; 1,000 for an introduction to another worshiper; 2,000 for an invitation to meet the pastor.

“On this scale, 11 of the 18 churches earned fewer than 100 points. Five actually received less than 20.

“The conclusion: The doctrine may be biblical, the singing inspirational, the sermon uplifting, but when a visitor finds nobody who cares whether he’s here, he is not likely to come back.”

Unfortunately, this seems to be the trend in South Carolina and in the rest of our country.

Trying To Please Everyone

The story is told of a man and his grandson traveling down the road, walking and leading a donkey. They met a man who said, “How foolish for you to be walking. One of you should be riding the donkey.” So the man put his grandson on the animal.

The next traveler they met frowned and said, “How dreadful for a strong boy to be riding while an old man walks.” So the boy climbed off the donkey and his grandfather climbed on.

The next person they met said, “I just can’t believe a grown man would ride and make a little boy walk.” So the man pulled the boy up and they rode the donkey together. That is, until they met another man who said, “I never saw anything so cruel in all my life — two human beings riding on one poor defenseless donkey!”

Down the road a ways, they met a couple of men. After they passed, one of the men turned to the other and said, “Did you ever before see two fools carrying a donkey?”

The point is: You can’t please everyone! And it can be very frustrating to even try to do so because it’s impossible. The truth of the matter is, even if we could please everyone, we shouldn’t. In fact, trying to please others can distract from the One we should be pleasing, if we’re not careful.

Though Paul was certainly mindful of the feelings of others, he wrote: “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10, NIV)

If You Have Good News

When you see, hear, or make news, hear good, funny, and clean jokes, please email your news and jokes to me at cap9296@aol.com, call me at 864-441-2371, mail your news to me at POB 128, Buffalo, or stop me on the street. When you celebrate good things in your life, I would like to share that with the good people of Buffalo. You want to laugh. I want to laugh. So please make me laugh.

Until next week, may God bless you richly.