Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Great Cake Deception


It was time for the annual cake sale at a Presbyterian church. Mrs. Billings always made 
the most beautiful cakes and she was expected to make another one this year. However, 
Ms. Billings was a very busy woman with the time she spent with her family and the time 
she gave to her community. She put off making the cake this year, thinking she could 
put it all together at the last minute.

When the cake came out of the oven, Mrs. Billings was horrified to see that the cake had 
fallen. She didn’t have the time or the ingredients to make another one and she panicked. 
Frantically, she devised an ingenious plan. She would find a way to "fix" the 
cake...then she would be the first one to the sale and buy her own cake back. 

Mrs. Billings looked around the room, trying to find something that she could use to 
"prop" the cake back up, and then she found it. A roll of toilet paper was the perfect 
size. So, she put it under the center of the cake and the cake looked perfect. She decorated 
it bright yellow and took it to the bake sale. Then she stuck around until the bake sale 
started. 

She was the first in line when the doors opened.   She smiled to herself about how clever 
she was. But then there was a terrifying horror crawling up from within her. She looked 
at every single table there was no yellow cake! Someone had snuck in before the sale and 
purchased it. The helpers couldn’t remember who had purchased it either because there 
was so much going on. 

She went home and felt absolutely horrible. That was it.   They would find the toilet 
paper in the cake, trace it back to her, and ban her from ever cooking ever again. 
Mrs. Billings didn’t have a whole lot of time to dwell on her problem. She was going to a 
reception that the Mayor’s wife was holding, and she was already a little late. 

When she got there, Mrs. Billings almost died right where she stood, because there, at the 
center of a brilliantly decorated table, was her bright, yellow cake. She debated all of her 
options: grab the cake and run, change her name and move to Tahiti, call in a bomb 
threat, or tell the hostess. It was a dead tie between calling in a bomb threat and telling 
the hostess, when she decided to muster up the courage to tell the Mayor’s wife of the 
horrors that awaited her inside the yellow cake. 

As Mrs. Billings got up to tell the hostess about the cake, she overheard someone 
complimenting the mayor’s wife. "That is simply the most beautiful cake I have ever 
seen!" To which the Mayor’s wife replied, "Thank you, I made it myself." Mrs. 
Billings then sat down and enjoyed her fruit salad. 

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Am I Awake Yet?

Last night when I was reading my grandson to sleep, he couldn't bear to part with his big jeep. I promised that as soon as he was awake again, he would get to play with it. I was there when he woke up this mornng, and he scrambled joyfully to a sitting position, as he does most mornings. He said, "I get to play with my jeep when I wake up?" I said yeah. He looked around and said, "Did I wake up yet?" and it struck me that this is the most important question we need to ask ourselves every day.


-Anne Lamott

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Back to Basics

Arguably, Bill Russell of Boston was the greatest basketball player of all time. Certainly, leading his Celtics to eleven world championships in thirteen seasons is a record that will never be equaled.
Once in the deciding game of the NBA Championship Series, the Boston big man stepped to the line for a pair of crucial free throws. The crowd hushed. If Russell made the two shots, the Celtics would again be on their way to another championship.

As he was about to shoot, one of his teammates came over and whispered something to the giant center. Russell grinned, then sank both free throws, and again the Boston Celtics were champions of the world. After the game, a reporter asked Larry Siegfried what he had said to Russell at the free throw line. The Celtic guard replied, "Well, sometimes Russ forgets to bend his knees. I just reminded him that he needed to do that." Forgets to bend his knees!

There is nothing more basic to shooting free throws than the bending of one's knees. The greatest basketball player who ever lived had to be reminded of one of the elementary basics of his game?
Amazing! Back to basics! Not a bad strategy!
 
[Gary L. Carver - http://www.sermonsuite.com/free.php?i=788016270&key=Tuxs3xzacxv2eYqs]