Murph Notes

Murph is cool

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Saturday, February 18, 2006

Romeo and Kermit?

Once upon a time in a land far far away there lived a frog named Henry.

Henry was a well educated frog from a well to do frog family from the right side of the pond.

Henry fell in love with Robertina. Robertina was from the other side of the pond. Henry's parents did not approve of Henry's affections for Robertina. It wasn't that she was from the other side of the pond. They could deal with that. It was that Robertina was purple.

One day Henry rolled up his tongue and nervously asked his father for permission to marry Robertina. His dad almost fell off his lily pad. He croaked "NO!" Henry, regained his balance, spread his flippes as wide as they would spread, and proceeded to plead with his father. His begging was intermixed with demanding due to his strong feelings.

Henry would have been thrown into the muck had it not been for the arrival of his mother. She could see in the color of her husband's face that something was not right. After listening to Henry plead his case she sat silent for a long time. Finally Henry's dad spoke.

He asked Henry how he would deal with people staring at him with a purple frog as a wife and what if they had tadpoles and they were purple. Henry calmly explained that it would not be easy and he and Robertina would need the support of their families to get them through the tough times.

Henry's mother finally spoke and told Henry that she was proud that he was choosing love over fear and was not concerned with the outside of Robertina but what was on the inside. Henry's father echoed his approval and pride. He granted Henry permission to marry Robertina the purple frog.

After Henry's mom hopped off to check on the tadpoles Henry explained to his dad that he was all that noble... he actually thought Robertina was kind of hot on the outside too and his favorite color had always been purple. They laughed as only male frogs can laugh and watched the sun set a little lower as the mosquito cloud began to rise.

Courage, love and yummy bugs... ain't life grand?!

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Screw You or I Love You?

A friend wrote this on her blog and has really got me thinking.

"When you think about it, you wouldn't be angry with your spouse if you didn't love them, you would most likely be ambivalent and just say "screw you"...As we so easily do with bosses, co-workers, neighbors etc. We should never be afraid to say "I love you". Sometimes things fail us that shouldn't. And when they do, it can seem as if the sun had suddenly reversed it's course. You can never know when this might happen or what form it might take. But it's arrival can bring you to doubt your most unassailable certainties, things you never before thought to question."

What I'm wondering about is what do do with the results that come when I apply this measuring stick to the relationships in my life. I have the priveledge of working for a church. This is a weird set up because the people I work with are both my "brothers and sisters" and my bosses and co-workers. With them I am somewhere between anger and ambivalent and wondering if the scale needs to tip more one way or the other.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Frogs Continued

Today I watched "Dragon Tails" and the biggest dragon, I don't remember his name, was afraid of this little pet that the smallest dragon (can't remember her name either) brought to Dragon school. It was a frog with wings! It was really weird looking. It made me want to go find a frog and super glue some wings to it's back and let it loose in the hall of the Elementary school down the road. Tell me kids wouldn't think that was cool?! Green rocks!

Monday, February 13, 2006

Maybe It Is Easy Being Green

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs that arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.
The race began.

Honestly no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:

"Oh, WAY too difficult!",

"They will NEVER make it to the top."

or: "Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one, except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.

The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!" More tiny frogs got tired and gave up.

But ONE continued higher and higher and higher.This one wouldn't give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out that the winner was DEAF!

The wisdom of this story is:

1. Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic because they take your most wonderful dreams away from you; the ones you have in your heart!

2. Always think of the power words have because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. - Ephesians

Thursday, February 02, 2006

It Doesn't Have To Feel Good To Be Good

Disciples are more than doers; they are givers. Yet disciples give more than words and knowledge to others; disciples give themselves to others. Disciples serve others by listening, supporting, encouraging, affirming, confronting, helping, loving, empathizing, and being there. Disciples are generous with their time and energy, imitating the One who knew how to serve. As servants, disciples learn how to be sensitive, to know when they are needed and when they are not needed. True servants can read people well. They can feel pain in others and know when to step in and help. True servant hood is very difficult, yet very important because it is the one unmistakable way people recognize Jesus in us (Matthew 25:34-46).

Every month Daryl's youth group went to Beverly Manor to put on a church service for the old people who lived there. Daryl didn't like to go, but he felt obligated. That's what Jesus would do, Daryl thought, even though Jesus didn't have old-folks homes in his day.
Lucky him!

Though Daryl had gone to five services at the Manor, he never really did anything. He just stood in the back of the room and held the hand of an old man. The man's name was Oliver, and he seldom spoke. He must have been in his eighties or nineties. Most of the time he slept through the church service. Daryl liked the old guy, though. He used to wake him up and talk to him, even though Oliver never seemed like he was listening. When Daryl would get ready to leave, though, Oliver seemed to know and would squeeze Daryl's hand. Daryl never told anyone about this, but each time he started to leave and felt Oliver squeeze his hand, he would lean down and whisper in his ear, "I'm sorry, Oliver, I have to go, but I love you and I'll be back next month. I promise."
On his sixth visit to the Manor, Daryl was looking forward to seeing Oliver again. But Oliver wasn't around. As the service began, Daryl became concerned. He said to the head nurse, "I don't see Oliver here today. Is he okay?"

The nurse asked Daryl to follow her to Room 13, where Oliver lay in bed, looking frail and near death. Oliver's eyes were closed and his breathing was irregular. Daryl walked over and grabbed Oliver's hand. He had never seen anyone dying before and Daryl had a difficult time holding back his tears. Daryl sat with Oliver for an hour. When Daryl started to leave, he knew he might not ever see Oliver again. Oliver squeezed his hand. Oliver knew, too. Daryl said what he always said: " I'm sorry, Oliver, I have to go, but I love you." When Daryl walked out of the room a young woman was standing there waiting for him. "Hello," she said, "I'm Oliver's granddaughter. He's dying, you know."
"Yes, I know," Daryl said.

"I wanted to meet you," she said. "See, I came to see my grandfather when the doctors said he was dying. They said he couldn't talk, but he could always talk to me. Last week he sort of woke up and said to me, ‘Please say goodbye to Jesus for me.' I told him that he was going to be with Jesus soon. He looked at me with the most alert eyes I have ever seen and said, ‘I know, but he comes to see me every month and he might not know I've gone.' I asked the nurse if she had any idea what he meant and she told me that you came once a month and held his hand. I wanted to thank you for him, for me-and, well, I imagine Jesus is very glad to have been mistaken for you."

Oliver died in his sleep that evening.

Read John 13:4-5, 12-17
The more you give the more you get.

What was the most unselfish thing you've ever done? As a short essay or journal entry, write about one thing you did for someone else with absolutely no thought for yourself.

May God grant you the gift of being a servant. May you know the words of Christ as true that it is in giving that you receive.
Taken from "Devotion" by Mike Yaconelli , copyright 2004, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/255597

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Dump

Today I took a dump




in a toilet.