Life Lessons

For the last year or so, some of my really good friends and I have gone singing every Sunday to a care center. We have walked the halls and found whatever doors were open and asked if they wanted to hear a favorite hymn. We sang to those walking in the halls. We harmonized when we could. Often, we didn't all sound great together, but the spirit was always very strong. It was my place to forget myself for the week and think about those wonderful people. The last time we went, two of my favorite people were no longer there. The nurses wouldn't tell us if they went home or if they passed on. My friend JJ called their families and found out that two of our favorite fans had passed on. I want to share with you some of my favorite memories of these two incredible men and a couple of other experiences that have really touched my heart.

I met Jake first, so I will talk about him. He was probably in his late 80's or 90's. He was often in his room with his wife and they would talk at each other all the time (I'm sure we've all met couples like that). :) Every time we came, he got so excited. He loved to talk and flirt with the girls. He always had the biggest grin on his face and he truly appreciated our music. I loved singing for him because he never wanted us to stop. He loved telling jokes and we loved to listen to them and laugh -not because the jokes were funny - but because he thought they were funny and he was old. So we laughed. He expected us every week. When we didn't show up, he was extremely disappointed and made sure we knew that the next week. It was nice to be missed. He too, will be missed.

The next humble man I want to talk about is Mike. When we met Mike, he had just had one leg amputated. He was in his 50's and had the most pure, humble spirit I think I've ever felt. He wanted to get to know each of us. He asked where we were from and what our names were. He had favorite hymns for us to sing. When we sang them, tears streamed down his face and he sang right along with us. We noticed that he had a guitar up against the wall and we asked him to play for us. He told us how awesome his hometeachers were because they bought the guitar for him to learn while he was there. He hadn't learned any songs yet. Luckily, one guy in our group, JJ, knew how to play really well and taught him a few chords. JJ asked Mike what songs he wanted to learn and over the next few weeks, every Sunday JJ gave a guitar lesson to Mike. The next time we saw Mike, his other leg was amputated. We came and sang and he told us that he wasn't able to go to church anymore and having us there made him feel like Heavenly Father still loved him. He cried and cried. He told us about his kids. His daughter was just about to go to her first prom. He always looked forward to our visits. I learned absolute humility from him. He was so humble and he cared about each of us. What a wonderful man. I feel so blessed to have known him.

Here is an experience I will never forget. We walked into one woman's room last Sunday and there was opera music blaring on her CD player. She was conducting the music and singing right along to it. When we tried to ask her questions, she stared off into space. We turned off the CD and started singing "Where Can I Turn For Peace?". Immediately she started sobbing and singing with us. We held her hands and kept singing a couple more hymns. As I looked around her room, there were pictures of her family and awards she had won and a picture with her and her husband with the President of the US. What was her life like?

I know this sounds cliche, but I really feel like when I go to sing to those people, it's more therapeutic for me than it is for them. I need that time to forget myself and think about other people. They have so much love. They have lived so much more life than me. What can I learn from them even for just a couple minutes a week? I have learned humility, enthusiasm, and how to feel.

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see ."

Corrie Ten Boom

Laughing Baby

This makes me smile every time I watch it. Enjoy!!!

21 REASONS WHY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS HARD TO LEARN
(for all you linguists out there)

The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

The Way the Cookie Crumbles

The Way The Cookie Crumbles

A friend of mine, returning to South Africa from a long stay in Europe found herself with some time to spare at London's Heathrow Airport. Buying a cup of coffee and a small package of cookies, she staggered, laden with luggage, to an unoccupied table. She was reading the morning paper when she became aware of someone rustling at her table. From behind her paper she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed young man helping himself to her cookies. She did not want to make a scene, so she leaned across and took a cookie for herself. A minute or so passed. More rustling. He was helping himself to another cookie.

By the time they were down to the last cookie in the package, she was very angry but still could not bring herself to say anything. Then the young man broke the remaining cookie in two, pushed half across to her, ate the other half and left.

Some time later, when the public-address system called for her to present her ticket, she was still fuming. Imagining her embarrassment when she opened her handbag and she was confronted by her package of cookies. She had been eating his. - Anonymous