Aprilchasingmoons

Build Castles in the Sky Here is an interesting fact about spiders. Spiders are usually born on the lower branches of bushes or trees. Some for one reason or another decide to stay right there in the lower branches where, when old enough they leave the web of their parents and move over to another corner and build their own web. There in the safety, they catch the odd fly and have enough on which to live, not fat or full but they get by. Others decide to climb to the higher branches and build their webs on the exposed branches of the trees and bushes. These are the webs that get torn and battered by wind and rain. They are also the webs that are up there where most of the flies are, so the captures they make are more frequent. In turn, these spiders eat better, are stronger and bigger.  One day one such spider met a very small young spider on the branch of a bush. The young spider looked at the big one in awe. The large spider asked what the youn...

You Want to be a Butterfly? I remember one day out walking. it was before I had my apple watch and I was wearing this little watch, not a costly thing at all, the strap was made of rubber. It was good when running, and walking light in weight and not accurate enough to have me trying to push to beat a deadline. It did not have any numerals on its face. It had a dot at the place where the 12 should be and that is it. So most of my times end with an “ish”. This day I went walking and was enjoying stravaiging along in no particular hurry. Twice I remember glancing at this watch and thinking, “I can have a bit longer sitting here.”  When I headed back home, I was surprised to see the clock on the church tower. It was telling me a time I most certainly had not expected. I looked at my little watch, I had it on upside down. Twice in the course of yesterday, I heard somebody complaining about his or her life. How long and boring the day was and every day was the sa...

Getting Older I had gone out walking and set my watch to record the time and the distance, as is my want. It had been raining heavily so I put on a waterproof jacket with tight cuffs. Sometime during the walk, the cuffs had pressed something on my watch and I could not read the walk or reopen the app.  I decided to wait until I got home and would fix it then. I made a coffee and got myself comfortable in my easy chair. Now to fix the watch. This is where I still am not sure what I did but one thing for sure I pressed the wrong buttons. My watch went into emergency mode, the next thing I heard was which service do you require, police ambulance or fire brigade? I panicked in a loud voice shouted to my wife I have done something with my watch and cannot get it off. Eventually, I managed to get it off and I pressed the reset buttons to give it a boost. Thinking all was well I relaxed with my coffee. My mobile phone rang. It was the police checking that all was well, they...

Oh, To Be Perfect There is the story of the man who had never married.  One day his best friend asked him why he had never met somebody and settled down? He told his friend that he had wanted very much to do just that. He had looked and looked for the perfect girl.  “You never found her?” asked his friend.  “Yes, I did,” he replied. He went on to tell his friend how he had met the perfect girl. She was perfectly beautiful and perfectly talented loving and caring. She would have made the perfect wife.  “So why did you not marry her?” asked his friend.  “Because she was looking for the perfect man.” if we spend our lives seeking perfection in ourselves or the lives of others, we will end up wasting our precious moments seeking that which can never be found.  it is the wise person who encourages others to be the best they can and learns to be the best they can be themselves.

My Friend Barry I remember a young lad who worked beside me his name was Barry. Barry had his problems; he was slow on the uptake. What to some people seemed like a simple task took Barry a bit longer to work out?  One day somebody made a comment about him. “Room temperature IQ, that one.” Everybody found it very funny, and before long Barry became the one who people poked fun at in order to join the crowd. Here are a few others of the things that were said about him.                          ·                     One short of a six-pack. ·                     Bright as Alaska in December. ·              ...

The Three Guests A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front garden. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you look hungry. Please come in and have something to eat." "Is the man of the house home?", they asked. "No", she said. "He's out." "Then we cannot come in", they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. "Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" The woman went out and invited the men in. "We do not go into a House together," they replied. "Why is that?" she wanted to know. One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home." T...

How Many Friends? A student came to a teacher and asked him, “Master, how many friends should a person have, one or a lot?” “Everything is very simple,” the teacher answered, “pick me that red apple from the highest branch.” The student looked up and answered, “But it’s too high, Teacher! I can’t reach it.” “Ask a friend, maybe he will help you,” Master answered. The student called another student and stood on his shoulders. “I still can’t reach it, Teacher,” said the disappointed student. “Don’t you have more friends?” the teacher smiled. The student asked more friends who started standing up on each other’s shoulders and backs grunting, trying to build a live pyramid. But the apple was too high, the pyramid crumbled, and the student wasn’t able to pick the longed for apple. Then the teacher called him back. “So, did you understand how many friends a person needs?” “I did, Teacher,” the student said, rubbing the injured sides, “A lot, so together we c...

The Horns of a Dilemma You are driving in a car at a constant speed.  On your left side is a steep drop-off and on your right side is a fire engine travelling at the same speed as you. In front of you is a galloping pig, which is the same size as your car, and you cannot overtake it.  Behind you is a helicopter flying at ground level.  Both the giant pig and the helicopter are also travelling at the same speed as you. What must you do to safely get out of this situation? It is difficult is it not? Just what would you do? Let me make a suggestion. Get off the children's carousel and bin the bottle in your hand.  Sometimes the solution is so much clearer when you are aware of reality.  We have a great knack of making things much more difficult than they are in fact. 

Words There are times when it is best to say very little to keep the words to a minimum. That does not mean that nothing is happening. Or that nothing of value is being spoken. I suspect we live in what could easily be called the age of noise. Background noise fills almost every corner. But even now I am falling into that very trap.  I give you only this today. “However, many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?” 

The Big Sale It was the day of the big sale.  Rumours of the sale and some advertising in the local paper were the main reason for the long queue that formed by 8:30, the store's opening time, in front of the store. The crowd was getting excited awaiting all the great things they had been promised.   A small man pushed his way to the front of the line, only to be pushed back, amid loud and colourful language. On the man's second attempt, he was punched square in the jaw, and knocked around a bit, and then thrown to the end of the queue again.  As he got up the second time, he said to the person at the end.   "That does it! If they hit me one more time, I don't open the store!" Sometimes our actions do more harm to ourselves than they do to others. It is always wise to think before we act. As the great sage always says, "Never act in haste."

A Blessing A family were having people to dinner. They gathered around a large and extended table.  Some of them were family the remainder neighbours and friends.  As the meal was prepared and ready to be served. At the table, the mother turned to her six-year-old daughter and said,  "Dear, would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," replied the little girl, shyly. "Just say what you hear Mum say, darling," the woman said. Her daughter took a deep breath, bowed her head, and solemnly said,  "Dear Lord, why the hell did I invite all these people to dinner!?!" When you invite a child to speak always be prepared for the unexpected.

The Magic Vase Once upon a time, there was an unfortunate poor man. His home was also very poor, a small and empty house, where mice made their nests and spiders made their webs. People tried to avoid coming into his house, why should they go into those poor ruins? And the poor man thought that poverty is the reason for his misfortunes, his eternal destiny. Then one day the poor man met a wise sage and talked to him about his poverty and miserable life. The sage felt sorry for the poor man and gave him an unusual gift of a beautiful vase.  He told the old man, "This is a magical vase that will save you from poverty." The poor man took the vase and wanted to sell it at first and then spend the money on alcohol as was his want and way. Why would he need such a beautiful thing?  Then, something strange happened. He started admiring the vase and couldn’t take it to the market. Instead home, put it on the table and start...

   It Could be Worse I remember when I was a prison chaplain. I was visiting and entered a cell where there were two prisoners in the same cell. They were in the same conditions, but one of them was unhappy, and the other one was happy. "Why are you so sad?" I asked the unhappy man.  "What reason do I have to be happy? I am unlucky.  Recently I was free and had all that I wanted.  I was on holiday in the sun and there, as you know, is more interesting than here. Then the unhappy man turned to the other prisoner and asked him how he could be so happy sharing a cell with him? The happy prisoner replied.  "Recently I was in another prison, where the conditions were much worse, here is just like a holiday for me, compared to what it was.  Many people want to get here, but I am the lucky one." Everything is relative and has to be learned in comparison.  If you want to be happy, just compare your current posi...

The Butterfly of Life A boy, who had stopped to watch how a butterfly was trying to get out of its cocoon. It took a lot of time, it seemed to be trying very hard, and the gap was as little as before. It seemed that the power would leave the butterfly soon, and it would give up and die. The boy decided to help, he took a penknife and cut the cocoon. The butterfly immediately got out, but its body was weak and feeble, and the wings were barely moving. He continued to watch the butterfly, thinking that now its wings would spread and it would fly.  However, that did not happen. The rest of its short life the butterfly had to drag its weak body and wings that weren’t spread. It was unable to fly because the boy had not realised that an effort to enter through the narrow gap of the cocoon was necessary for the butterfly so that the life-giving fluid would move from the body to the butterfly’s wings so that the butterfly could fly.  The ...

To Skin a Cat An old gentleman was being troubled by youngsters outside his home.  Young boys playing outside his house and making a terrible noise, they were also banging the ball against his wall.  He went out and spoke to the boys one evening thanking them for making such a noise. He told them that the noise brought him much pleasure.  He asked them if they would come back the next night and do it again and he would pay them fifty pence each. The next night they were there making an even greater noise. He went out and thanked them and  paid  them. He also reminded them to come again the next evening. At the end of the night, he gave them twenty pence each and asked them to come the next evening. On the next  evening , he gave them ten pence each and again thanked them. When they arrived the next evening, he went out to thank them but gave them nothing. They asked him why. He told them he was a poor old man and had no more...

A Penny for your Thoughts A young Scottish lad and lass were sitting on a low stone wall, holding hands, gazing out over the loch. For several minutes they sat silently. Then finally the girl looked at the boy and said, "A penny for your thoughts, Angus." "Well, uh, I was thinking.  Perhaps it's aboot time for a wee kiss." The girl blushed, then leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then he blushed. The two turned once again to gaze out over the loch. Minutes passed and the girl spoke again. "Another penny for your thoughts, Angus." "Well, uh, I was thinking perhaps it's noo time aboot time for a wee cuddle. “The girl blushed, then leaned over and cuddled him for a few seconds. Then he blushed. Then the two turned once again to gaze out over the loch. After a while, she again said, "Another penny for your thoughts, Angus." "Well, uh, I was thinking perhaps it's aboot time you let me put ...

Weather Forecast One day in early September the chief of a Native American tribe was asked by his tribal elders if the winter was going to be cold or mild.   The chief, in turn, asked his medicine man, but he too had lost touch with the reading signs from the natural world around the Great Lakes.  In truth, neither of them had an idea about how to predict the coming winter.  However, the chief decided to take a modern approach, and the rang the National Weather Service in Gaylord Michigan. "Yes, it is going to be a cold winter," the meteorological officer told the chief.  Consequently, he went back to his tribe and told the men to collect plenty of firewood. A fortnight later the chief called the Weather Service and asked for an update. 'Are you still forecasting a cold winter?' he asked.  "Yes, very cold", the weather officer told him. As a result of this brief conversation, the chief went back to the tribe and told his peopl...

Will You Marry Me? There was an old couple who met in the restaurant at a caravan park. They had been going to the same place year after year and had got to know each other very well. One evening a supper was held in the restaurant and the two found themselves at the same table, seated across from one another. As the meal progressed, George made several admiring glances at Sheila and he finally gathered his courage to ask her, "Sheila, will you marry me?"  After about five seconds of "careful consideration", Sheila answered.  "Yes. Yes, I will." The meal ended and, with a few more pleasant exchanges, then they went to their respective caravans.  The n ext morning, George was troubled, "Did she say "yes" or did she say "no"?" He could not remember. Try as he would, he just could not recall. Not even a faint memory.  So, it was with some trepidation that he went to the telephone and called Sheila. Firstly,...