Marty Kaarre
Imitators

Michael Hodgin writes of a missionary serving in West Africa where his two young kids grew up.  When it came time for them to return home, their mother did not want them to look conspicuous, so she ordered “western” clothing for them to wear.   

The first leg of their flight home took them to Paris.  As the family walked along, the parents realized that everyone was staring at them.  When they turned around they discovered why.  Their children were carrying their suitcases on their heads. 

What could be more natural?  Children learn by imitation.  That is why play is so vital for them.  By pretending to be a fireman or a mom they are learning to grow up.   

Imitators
Marty Kaarre
The One Who Sang a Perfect Song

A woman from Asheville, Alabama, bought a mynah bird, but as soon as she brought it home she discovered it was sick. The bird started wheezing and coughing and hacking as if it trying to clear its throat. The vet said the bird looked healthy, but maybe it had a rare aviary virus, so he gave antibiotics to clear up its respiration.   

After treatment with antibiotics, however, the bird continued to cough and wheeze. But, finally, the bird’s problem was solved.    

Can you guess the problem? Like parrots, mynah birds mimic sound. When they tracked down the previous owner, they discovered it was recently owned by a woman who had emphysema.  

 

All of us influence each other.

The One Who Sang a Perfect Song
Marty Kaarre
The Palm Sunday When....Things Happened

My wife was handing out large palm branches to all the kids. At the beginning of the worship service, they would walk in from the back of the church – waving palm branches and singing a song that Mary Ann composed for the occasion.  

As soon as the palm branches were handed out, my ten-year-old daughter and her friend, Kyoti, sensing the importance of setting a good example for the little beaners, immediately started thrashing each other with their palms.   

The Palm Branch Incident of 2011 was brought to a premature conclusion, and when order was restored, my wife used the moment to clarify palm branch protocol.  

“Now,” my wife asked the kids, “what are your palm branches to be used for? Do we use them to whack each other and bother the person sitting in front of you?”  

The littlest ones shouted in unison, “YES!!!”  

Palm Sunday was turning out to be far more exciting than they had imagined.  

The Palm Sunday When....Things Happened
Marty Kaarre
Great Fires and Small Flames

Boston has named its major league baseball team after a certain color of stocking, but that wasn’t always the case. Back in the 19th century, Boston’s baseball team used to have a silly name. They were called the Boston Beaneaters.  

The Beaneaters had, arguably, the best stadium in baseball. The South End Grounds included the Grand Pavilion, a two-story grandstand, which featured ornate spires and turrets.  

On May 15, 1894, the Baltimore Orioles were playing the Beaneaters in the South End Grounds in Boston. In the third inning, a man lit a cigarette in the right field stands and the match fell below the bleachers, starting a small fire.  

But, at that very moment, a fierce fight broke out between Boston’s Tommy Tucker and Baltimore’s John McGraw. Soon both teams emptied their dugouts and ran onto the field. The fans were riveted on the brawl. Spectators began throwing food and beer bottles onto the field. Fights erupted in the stands.  

Great Fires and Small Flames
Marty Kaarre
Have You Seen the Gorilla Lately?

When I was growing up I didn’t have Attention Deficit Disorder, because it hadn’t been invented yet. In high school I was called “The Gaper” because my mouth, apparently, would hang open while I daydreamed in class. In my freshman year of college I won the “Neil Armstrong Spacey Award” because I was so . . . spacey.  

When they finally got around to inventing ADD, I took a test from a licensed psychologist, and it turned out I had come down with a bad case of it.   

 

Have You Seen the Gorilla Lately?

Ruining Prayer Meetings

Ruining Prayer Meetings

Rhoda knew how to wreck a prayer meeting.  

Peter had just been arrested and thrown in prison.  Many believers gathered at the house of Mary, John Mark’s mother (the Mark, by the way, who wrote the second Gospel) to pray for Peter’s release.  

An angel of the Lord freed Peter from prison, and Peter went immediately to Mary’s house. When Rhoda, the servant girl, recognized Peter standing at the door, she ran to tell everyone.  Everyone thought she was crazy and were annoyed that she was interrupting their meeting to pray for Peter’s release from prison! 

Doing Dishes and Giving Foot Rubs

Doing Dishes and Giving Foot Rubs

I can move objects with my mind. Experts in the field of the paranormal call this phenomenon “telekinesis.”   

Yesterday, when we drove down the mountain into town, my wife put a small plate of chocolate-chip cookies on the dashboard. At the foot of Twin Lakes hill is a sharp right turn that I have recognized as a “psychic field.” In some mysterious way, it focuses my telekinetic powers.   

We sped down the hill and my concentration was so intense I neglected to brake around the turn at the bottom. Focusing on the cookies, I actually slid them along the dashboard toward me. Using only my mind!  

My Wife, The Ninny

My Wife, The Ninny

Seven years ago yesterday was the debut of 'Story of the Day'.  In honor of that anniversary, we reprint for your reading pleasure the first story published.  Enjoy!

My Wife, The Ninny

When our children were little my wife always insisted I should take them to the clinic for immunization shots.  I tried to convince her that children need a mother at such a traumatic moment.  And then I would appeal to her higher nature by telling her not to be such a ninny.   

Yet, despite my patient reasoning and crystalline logic, she remains adamant that I take them for their shots.  

The ninny.   

So, off I drive to the clinic with a little child bundled in the car seat. When the nurse walks into the room with the syringe, she sighs and apologizes – as if this is all her fault. Nurses hate this part of their duties. 

The Lightning Rod that Created a Storm

The Lightning Rod that Created a Storm

Where would we be without Benjamin Franklin? For starters, we wouldn’t have any Ben Franklin department stores. And, without him, that oval in the middle of a fifty dollar bill would’ve been blank.   

Seriously, though, Franklin was a genius. For starters, he invented the Franklin stove and bifocals. But, perhaps his most important invention was the lightning rod. 

 

Unfortunately, Franklin’s lightning rod was not greeted with gratitude by theologians. Many devout churchmen believed lightning was God’s way of sending His wrath on a wicked world. Using a lightning rod, therefore, defied the will of God.  

Franklin introduced the lightning rod in 1752. Three years later, an earthquake rocked Massachusetts – causing some preachers to shout that this was God’s punishment for the “Franklin rods” installed on some buildings in their state. Soon, Bible scholars in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain united in denouncing Franklin’s invention as heresy. 

Let Prisoners Run Wild

Let Prisoners Run Wild

They will rebuild the ancient ruins. They will restore what had once been devastated. 

Isaiah 61:4         

 In 1852, on Vancouver Island, British settlers founded the village of Victoria. The town was built by with beauty and Old World charm. Flowers were imported from England: hollyhocks, wallflower, and mignonette.  Every home boasted a lovely garden in the front yard.  

The peaceful village of Victoria was truly idyllic.  

 

But all this changed in a day. On April 25, 1848, most of the 450 residents were returning home from worship when an American boat, the Commodore, pulled into harbor with 450 passengers. Instantly, the size of the town had doubled.  

We Must Deal With It

We Must Deal With It

When my daughter, Krista, was two, she brought her toy doll into the living room and asked her older sister, Erika, is she would like to hold her baby.   

Erika played along. She gently cradled the doll in her arms and cooed “baby talk” to it.  After a few moments of this, Erika – ever the diplomat – exclaimed, “Oh no!  She’s crying!  I think she needs her mommy. You better take her back.”   

Uncertain that Erika comprehended the situation, little Krista leaned in close, and, with a low voice, so the baby wouldn’t hear, whispered, “She’s fake,”