A Study on Love - Edition #27

Thursday, February 2nd, 2006

Happy Groundhogs Day!!!

A Study on Love – Edition #27

A middle aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near-death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30-40 years to live.
Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a tummy tuck. She even has someone come in and change her hair color. She figures that since she's got another 30 or 40 years she might as well make the most of it.
She walks out the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital.
She arrives in front of God again and asks, "I thought you said I had another 30-40 years?"
God replies, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

(From humor.about.com) PHOENIX: Phoenix Phil, Arizona's official groundhog, was buried alive beneath a recently constructed K Mart parking lot. Therefore, he did not appear on Groundhog Day and forecast the weather by looking for his shadow. 

"That groundhog, he was a gonner," explained Governor Janet Napolitano.

"There is no precedent for the groundhog not showing up," said Arizona State Senator John Dumbreak, "so we don't know what this means for sure." Dumbreak introduced legislation to designate Randy the Rattlesnake as the official February 2nd weather prognosticator for Arizona. The legislation was passed in emergency session. 

"Problem is, rattlesnakes don't have a shadow," noted the Governor, "but irrationality and misinformation has never stopped the state legislature from passing stupid laws."

Baja Arizona neo-luddites were thrilled at the news that Phoenix's groundhog ended up beneath six inches of asphalt. 

"Maybe, in retribution, God will punish their progress-mad leaders and bury Phoenix under 3 feet of snow," commented Ned Ludlight, local luddite leader. 

"More likely they'll end up with 12 more years of summer," quipped Joe Sam, our foreign correspondent and statutory agent.

Frightened Phoenix Chamber of Commerce officials frantically dug in the parking lot until well after dawn on the 2nd, hoping that the groundhog could be found. 

K Mart officials were not amused at having their parking lot torn up.

"Using a rattlesnake as our February 2nd weather critter doesn't send the right message out about Arizona" explained Sonja Sellem, with the Phoenix Chamber. 

The rattlesnake appeared at dawn, and bit a television news anchor on the ankle.

Memorial services for Phil were held in the parking lot.

Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, "I’ll bet you don't know what day this is."
"Of course I do," he answered as if he was offended, and left for the office.
At 10:00 a.m., the doorbell rang and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box of a dozen long stemmed red roses. At 1:00 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two-pound box of her favorite chocolates was delivered. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress.
The woman couldn't wait for her husband to come home.
"First the flowers, then the chocolates and then the dress!" she exclaimed. "I've never had a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my life!”

OK… enough of the humor. Poor groundhog being buried under a K-Mart, well, at least they didn’t get a poser. But still, a replacement would’ve made a little sense… but a snake for groundhogs day? That’s pretty weird. My son is ill… wouldn’t eat his food this morning… and he is sleeping right now.

Ruth 4:13-17
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

I like Ruth. Her name means companion and friend. And she lived up to that name with Naomi, whose name means pleasant. Those are good names. I was a bit depressed yesterday. I am in a lot of pain today. I see the doctor tomorrow, as does my son. But I am in better spirits today than yesterday. Groundhogs day… it’s such a silly holiday, the strangest one that I can truly think of that is popular by society. There are many other holidays’ out there that aren’t really acknowledged that should be placed to the forefront that aren’t given much a chance. And really, do we need a list of holidays to remember to do the things we should? Saint Patrick’s Day is to remember to be compassionate to one another… we celebrate it once a year, but the attitude should be to celebrate it everyday. Christmas is about the remembrance of Christ, celebrated once a year… New Years is about change… Anniversaries and Birthdays are about growth… I don’t think that they are necessarily foolish, but if left to just once a year, then we miss the point of what they are all about.

(From Groundhog.org) Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in the United States. It is also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths such as this tie our present to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence our lives. It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter sleep to look for his shadow.

If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole.

If the day is cloudy and shadow-less, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.

The groundhog tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. Even then, it marked a milestone in the winter and the weather that day was important.

So, well… whatever. It still seems like a very silly holiday… it’s like a big rat popping out of a hole, and irregardless of what happens, winter is still coming, at least if God wants to bring it, he will. Heck, God can make it snow in July if he wants to. I think more so now that this holiday is about silliness over anything else. So, have fun, enjoy life and tell a joke. Use the ones in this if you want to… but relax. Life is too short to be stressed about anything. Whatever happens will happen.

Job 2:9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

I think quite the opposite… Love God and live… that’s all that’s important. Johnny Out.