Andy and the Minister

sermonindex Jul 14, 2005

Andy and the Minister One Sunday morning, the minister noticed little Andy standing in thefoyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names with small American flags mounted on either side of it. The seven year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, sothe minister walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning, Andy." "Good morning sir," he replied, still focused on the plaque."Sir, what is this?" he asked the minister. The minister said, "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young menand women who died in the service." Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Andy's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear, asked, "Which service, the 9:30 or the 11:00?" I thought you all would enjoy this.Bub

sermonindex Jul 14, 2005

LOL.... now thats pretty funny.Krispy

C

crsschk Jul 14, 2005

:-P

sermonindex Jul 14, 2005

Bubba,I'm not amused. Sorry guys. Been the ridiculed child too often in my life. And been mortally frightened. Believe me, it's not entertaining to be 'Andy'.

sermonindex Jul 14, 2005

Dorcas... I say this with as much compassion as I can muster up... Get a sense of humor!This joke wasnt making fun of anybody... I dont know how you could draw the conclusion that it was.Krispy

sermonindex Jul 14, 2005

Krispy,I love laughing when it's appropriate. I read the leading post and spent half an hour writing much more of what I thought about it - about 4 paragraphs to be precise. I didn't feel happy with my attempt, so I decided to cut to the quick, blanked it all out, and you saw what I decided to say. You call it 'a joke' and quite simply I would not. That's really the heart of the matter. And, I didn't think it was 'funny' for the reasons I gave. For me, the scenario rings too many bells from my past and it's possible it does for others who read these forums, for all sorts of reasons. As an adult now, I have no intention of glossing over the serious side of the way the 'joke' was put together, nor ignoring the reasons I'm probably not the only person feeling uncomfortable. But hey, I'm comfortable with the way I'm reacting. Sure others will do their own thing, too.

sermonindex Jul 14, 2005

I'm interested in seeing if any others reacted the way you did... If anyone did, please feel free to post... I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around why this joke is offensive. Someone enlighten me, please.If anyone has a child they appreciate the humor behind this joke... this is something one of my kids would say... out of the mouths of babes, ya know.I'm totally befuddled. We cant even tell clean jokes on here without this kind of thing happening... or am I completely missing something?Laugh everybody! C'mon... it's not hard to do!Krispy

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JaySaved Jul 14, 2005

I thought it was funny.

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moreofHim Jul 14, 2005

I did think it was funny- the reason being, because it sounds exactly what one of my kids would say. It's just a kid thing.My only son (the middle child)has a habit of saying really funny but weird things.One time I was making a menu for the week and I wanted each person in the family to give me one idea of their favorite meal; so I asked C.J. first: "what's one of your favorite things that Mommy makes?"His answer: the beds.Another time I was teaching him the Alphabet and we were on letter "B". I was telling C.J. different words that started with "B", like boat, broom, bed, "box"- and then he said "yeah, like a chicken "bawks"- "bawk" "Bawk". This is the best one though!!(I hope Arielle doesn't care that i wrote this about her) When Arielle was about 4, we went to Florida and we ordered her a kiddie cocktail (for those of you who don't know it's a little kids "drink" that is really just seven-up with some red-grenadine in it to make it pink- and then a cherry in it. This was quite a few years before I surrendered my life totally to the Lord- so no pm's please) Anyway, after she got it and tasted it, i asked how she liked it. She said it was fine, but was it realy made out of "pink kittys". :-P Some kids just have a way of turning scenerios and words around in their lttle minds.Kids are hilarious!In Christ, Chanin

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Azulfire Jul 15, 2005

I really enjoyed this, it reminds me of how we too out of our young and innocent minds may not understand that certain words would have a few differnt meanings....as far as this young child his only understanding was of his world, his church world in the term of "service" how many scrapes have we found ourselves involved in because of lack of understanding, with the very words , love? judge/judgment, and many many more words, of double meanings or more as well. awwww the english language..... :-P

sermonindex Jul 15, 2005

One Sunday last fall my two older sons and I were watching a football game... (they are ages 9 and 10). My 9 yr old is a football guru... understands the game better than most adults...Anyway, it was a close game, and the score was back and forth all afternoon... toward the end of the 4th quarter he looks at me as serious as could be ... and says..."I think the team that scores the most points is gonna win this one!"LOL... I about fell out of my chair laughing. We havent let him live that one down yet. Probably never will!!Krispy

sermonindex Jul 15, 2005

I enjoyed this little anecdote. 8-)

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IRONMAN Jul 16, 2005

"I think the team that scores the most points is gonna win this one!"that Krispy is a classic...can yu say, hall of fame?

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roadsign Jul 16, 2005

In response to the funny story, Dorcus wrote:I'm not amused. Sorry guys. Been the ridiculed child too often in my life. And been mortally frightened. Believe me, it's not entertaining to be 'Andy'. Kripsy responded: Dorcas... I say this with as much compassion as I can muster up... Get a sense of humor! Krispy, compassion is the ability to step onto another person’s map and empathize with their pain – weep when they weep and laugh when they laugh. In another thread you, wrote: I am learning to season my words with more grace. Contrary to popular opinion, there is grace in my heart and motives... it just doesnt always come out the way it should in my words. Your response to Dorcus may reveal that “popular opinion” is not necessarily wrong. You also said: I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around why this joke is offensive. Someone enlighten me, please. I really appreciate your honesty. I can see that you are having a hard time. You aren’t the only one. There are a lot of hurting people all around us, much like what Dorcus is trying to express, and in our culture, people hide that so we can't see it. We live in a calloused society that tends to reject signs of pain and woundedness. So people try put on layers and hide away their vulnerability in order to avoid getting further wounded. As Christians, we are commanded to love others – not just their outer presentation, but their real selves. Love always protects. (1 Cor. 13) Love doesn’t discount or belittle the pain of another. Perhaps the Spirit is using this cute, innocent little story to help you to learn a bit more about yourself and others too. It is a humbling process, Krispy, but that is what Christ requires. None of us gets closer to him by defending our righteousness, but by realizing that within our hearts “dwelleth no good thing.“PS I think that this well-loved poem by Charles Finn Please hear what I am not saying will help you understand a bit more about people. Diane

sermonindex Jul 16, 2005

Roadsign... Dorcas and I worked this out privately, and we both are comfortable with everything here. So since Dorcas is cool with me, and I am cool with her... it seems to me that it should be cool with everyone else..... and dropped.Thanx,Krispy

sermonindex Jul 16, 2005

that Krispy is a classic...can yu say, hall of fame?I just want to clarify for folks from countries other than America... that when I say we were watching football, I do not mean soccer! I am referring to good ol' American smash-mouth football.Krispy

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roadsign Jul 16, 2005

Someone enlighten me, please.Krispy, I feel that I took your words here seriously by taking some time to pray and meditate, and then respond to you. I'd sure appreciate it if you would think about what I wrote and respond to my words. Is that Okay? Was I any help in adressing your perplections?I'm glad that all is fine between you and Dorcus. She seems to exhibit a lot of spirutal tenderness and forgiveness PTL. But Dorcus was not the focal issue in my response. She just brought it out. I'm not just picking on you. I think we all should take time to think about how our words and behavior affect others. Christ and the apostles made that a priority. We can all grow in love. And we can all learn from each other. PS: What did you think of the poem: Please hear what I am not saying?

Z

ZekeO Jul 16, 2005

KrispyKrittr wrote:I am referring to good ol' American smash-mouth football.Bro, they wear so much padding and those big helmets if anyone is getting smash mouthed its the spectators. I heard a comment once that only in America could they make a game that lasts one hour extend to three. COmmercials, urgh :-P

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philologos Jul 16, 2005

only in America could they make a game that lasts one hour extend to three. COmmercials, urghOver here we invented a game that can last for 5 days and still end in a draw. What does that tell you about our national character? :-D Actually the origen of cricket is that the English being a godless race invented the game to give themselves some idea of eternity. :-D

sermonindex Jul 17, 2005

roadsign,It would be true that by the time Krispy wrote your second quotation from him, he and I were in private correspondence. In fact, when he posted as he did the first time, it was comforting for the post not to have been passed over without comment by the next person, which I knew would have been easier for anyone to do. From the poem, Please hear what I'm not saying,I tell you everything that is really nothing, And nothing of what is really everything, it is difficult to explain what it's like to have been invalidated as a person so comprehensively that one cannot even put into thoughts what one knows. There is just a deep silence which needs to be broken, if ever there is to be healing.Not going to say much about myself here, except a big thanks to SI for having cultivated a spiritual climate in which I could break a personal sound barrier, knowing I'd be accepted.