Daddyroy’s Lounge

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter.

She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but
then she looked at the envelope again.

There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and
address.

She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:

I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.

Love Always,
Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on
the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me?
I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."

With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty
kitchen cabinets.

"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to
offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner."

She reached for her purse and counted out its
contents. Five dollars and forty cents.

Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."

She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk…leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday.

Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her
meager offerings tucked under her arm.

"Hey lady, can you help us,lady?"

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she
hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the
alleyway.

A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.

"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife
and I have been living out here on the street, and,
well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda
hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we'd
really appreciate it."

Ruth looked at them both.

They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she
was certain that they could get some kind of work if
they really wanted to.

"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman
myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."

"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway."

The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

"Sir, wait!"

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.

"Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest."

She handed the man her grocery bag. "Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"

"Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering

"You know, I've got another coat at home.

Here, why don't you take this one."

Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the
woman's shoulders.

Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street…without her coat and with nothing to serve
her guest.

"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too.

The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her
mailbox.

"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day."

Dear Ruth:

It was so good to see you again.
Thank you for the lovely meal.
And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.

Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

Friendship is built on trust, and takes time to grow and develop. What better context for this kind of friendship to grow than in your marriage. Friendship is intimate sharing; a place where you can talk about feelings and hurts and hopes, with honesty, transparency, and loyalty. Friendship, like a good marriage, grows over time. If you and your spouse don't share this kind of friendship, don't wait for the other to reach out. Take the initial step and see how he/she responds.

Teach your spouse how to be your best friend:

Assign top priority to your friendship.
Nothing gets in the way of our doing what is most important to us. If you really want to be friends with your spouse, make time for it. It will be time well spent. One of the hindrances to spending time with your spouse may be your kids. They demand time, but remember that you were husband and wife before you were dad and mom. Make each other the priority of the family. Besides, you teach your children a valuable lesson by showing them that mom and dad are in love with each other.

Cultivate transparency in your relationship.
Honesty, with your self and each other, makes you a better friend. First, honor God who made you the person you are. Discover the freedom that comes with being who you are. Risk being the "same person" at work and at home, in your dealings with friends and strangers.

Dare to risk talking about your affection.
Make, and use, a batch of little cards that say, "I love you because…." Fill in the blank and put them in lunch boxes for your kids, in jacket pockets for your spouse, in letters to dear friends. Your spouse, especially, wants to know he/she is loved. It's a way of looking at your marriage in a fresh way, and sharing the discovery.

Learn the language of love.
Each person needs to learn how to say "I love you," not only in those three little words but through actions of respect. Do you show your spouse that you love him/her with their favorite meal, a bouquet of flowers, a small gift, remembering to do an errand, doing a chore without being asked? Keep your eyes open for common, everyday events that give you the chance to express your love.

Give your spouse freedom.
Don't let your unforgiveness or possessiveness control your spouse. Give them room to explore their potential, learn from their mistakes, and have some personal private time that is totally their own. Accept your spouse - unconditionally - and encourage him/her to be the person God created in them. And, as the seasons of your lives change, notice and make adjustment for the variations in your friendship.

Remember that a friendship that is tended, nurtured, and rooted in the Lord will endure. And being your spouse's friend will also enable your marriage to endure.

Hello Mother, How are you doing. I pray that your spirits are high and lifted up. I am writing you once again, with just a few words to say that you are appreciated as a mother. I recognize and honor you for all that you have done to nurture, love and keep your family. May God continue to give you strength and understanding, that you may know that " You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you ". I pray that he gives you patience, kindness, gentleness, and discernment. May the words that you speak build up and not tear down, bring life and not destruction. May you find fulfillment, contentment and joy as a mother, while never losing sight of the woman you are IN CHRIST.

Did you know …………. that MOTHER'S DAY has become the most popular day of the year to dine out.

Telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons, daughters and husbands everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation for their mothers, wives, grand mothers, sisters, aunts………

IN FACT, mother's day is so special that in May, 1913 the House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the President, his Cabinet, members of Congress, and all officials of the federal government to wear a white carnation on Mother's Day.

Then …………. on May 8, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. The U.S. flag is to be displayed on government buildings. And you didn't think you were special!!!

M - Magnify The Lord
O - Overseer of The Household
T - Thankworthy (worthy of approval, credit and praise)
H - Having Humility
E - Effectual (producing or capable of producing the desired effect)
R - Reverend (worthy of deep respect and love)

Finally, may Proverbs 31 be written all over you life!!!!

A United States Marine was attending some college
courses between assignments. He had completed missions
in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed
atheist and a member of the ACLU. One day the
professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked
to the ceiling and flatly stated, 'God, if you are
real, then I want you to knock me off this platform.
I'll give you exactly 15 minutes.' The lecture room
fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes
went by and the professor proclaimed, 'Here I am God.
I'm still waiting.'

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the
Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor,
and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform.
The professor was out cold. The Marine went back to
his seat and sat there, silently. The other students
were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in
silence. 

The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken,
looked at the Marine and asked, 'What the heck is the
matter with you? Why did you do that?' The Marine
calmly replied, 'God was too busy today protecting
America's soldiers who are protecting your right to
say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So, He sent me.'

One day I met a sweet gentleman and fell in love.
When it became apparent that we would marry, I made
the supreme sacrifice and gave up beans.

Some months later, on my birthday, my car broke down
on the way home from work. Since I lived in the countryside I called my husband and told him that I would be late because I had to walk home.

On my way, I passed by a small diner and the odor of
baked beans was more than I could stand. With miles to walk, I figured that I would walk off any ill effects by the time I reached home, so I stopped at the diner and before I knew it, I had consumed three large orders of baked beans.

All the way home, I made sure that I released all the
gas. Upon my arrival, my husband seemed excited to see me
and exclaimed delightedly: 'Darling I have a surprise
for dinner tonight.'  He then blindfolded me and led
me to my chair at the dinner table  I took a seat and
just as he was about to remove my blindfold, the
telephone rang. He made me promise not to touch the blindfold until he returned and went to answer the call.

The baked beans I had consumed were still affecting me
and the pressure was becoming most unbearable, so while my
husband was out of  the room I seized the opportunity,
shifted my weight to one leg and let one go.

It was not only loud, but it smelled like a fertilizer
truck. I took my napkin from my lap and fanned the air around me vigorously. Then, shifting to the other cheek, I ripped off three more. The stink was worse than cooked cabbage.

Keeping my ears carefully tuned to the conversation in
the other room, I went on like this for another few
minutes.

The pleasure was indescribable. When eventually the
telephone farewells signaled the end of my freedom, I quickly
fanned the air a few more times with my napkin, placed it on my lap and folded my hands back on it feeling very relieved and pleased with myself.

My face must have been the picture of innocence when
my husband asked me if I had peeked through the
blindfold, and I assured him I  had not.
At this point, he removed the blindfold, and twelve
dinner guests seated around the table chorused: 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!'

A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady
following him around.  If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore
she kept staring at him.

She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him
and said, "I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just
that you look so much like my late son."

He answered, "That's okay."

"I know it's silly, but if you'd call out "Good bye, Mom" as I
leave the store, it would make me feel so happy."

She then went through the ! checkout, and as she was on her way
out of the store, the man called out, "Goodbye, Mom."

The little old lady waved, and smiled back at him.

Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone's
day, he went to pay for his groceries.

"That comes to $121.85," said the clerk.

"*&^#!, How come so much … I only bought 5 items.."

The clerk replied: "Yeah, but your Mother said you'd be paying for her things, too." 

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?"

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her and said, "Just take care of my eyes, dear."

We should be careful what we ask for, because we just might get and who knows at what expense.

3-year-old Reese says:
"Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name.

Amen."

The Christening
After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.

Finally, the boy replied: "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys."

Quiet please………
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"

One bright little girl replied: "Because people are sleeping."

Shhhhhhhhhhhh!
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough.

"You're not supposed to talk out loud in church."
"Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked.

Angie pointed to the back of the church and said: "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."

What would Jesus do?
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons,Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.

"If Jesus were sitting here, He would say: 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'

Kevin turned to his younger brother and said: "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

Heaven's Gate
A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand.

"Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.
"He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said: "Did God throw him back down?"

Guess who's coming to dinner
A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said: "Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.
"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said: "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him.

He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

. The tailgating woman hit the roof–and the horn–screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper stickers, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car!"

We call this one Island Jazz! If you ever visit the island of St. Maarten and you're downtowm on back street look for the smooth sounds of Connis. This is a tue Island Melody. Check out his video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5GDLlxDn8A