Don't Stop Laughing Now! - Softcover

Ann Spangler is an award-winning writer and the author of many bestselling books, including Praying the Names of God, Women of the Bible and Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. She is also the author of The One Year Devotions for Women and the general editor of the Names of God Bible. Ann’s fascination with and love of Scripture have resulted in books that have opened the Bible to a wide range of readers. She and her two daughters live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Shari MacDonald is the author of numerous Christian novels, coauthor of such titles as "The Creative Memories® Way", and compiler of several humor compilations, including "Humor for a Mom’s Heart". She and her husband, live in Portland, Oregon with their twin sons.

Don't Stop Laughing Now! Copyright 2002 by Ann Spangler Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Don't stop laughing now! : stories to tickle your funny bone and strengthen your faith / compiled by Ann Spangler and Shari MacDonald. p. cm. ISBN-10: 0-310-23996-6 ISBN-13: 978-0-310-23996-3 1. Religion --- Humor. 2. Conduct of life --- Humor. I. Spangler, Ann. II. MacDonald, Shari PN6231 .R4 H45 2001 818 '.60208 --- dc21 2001005381 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture references marked lb are from the Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means --- electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other --- except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Michelle Espinoza Printed in the United States of America We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. --- Lily Tomlin I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. --- Jennifer Unlimited If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. --- Catherine Aird Inevitably, the funniest stories are usually the ones we tell on ourselves. Sometimes these stories are downright embarrassing. But once we put away our punctured pride and dust off our damaged dignity, they can become an endless source of amusement. The ability to laugh at ourselves is surely a sign that all is well with our souls. Psst . . . Has Anyone Seen a Table I Can Crawl Under? Humbled by a Pine Tree Stan Toler Many years ago, I was privileged to serve as the first pastoral staff member of John Maxwell at Faith Memorial Church in Lancaster, Ohio. John, a noted author, lecturer, and former senior pastor of the Skyline Wesleyan Church, has been my mentor for more than twenty years. He has guided me in matters of leadership, preaching, evangelism, and church growth. And from time to time, John, who is an excellent golfer, has felt the need to mentor me in the great game of golf. On one rainy fall day many years ago in Lancaster, I was working on a project when the intercom buzzer sounded. 'Toler,' the booming voice of Maxwell said, 'let's play 18!' What a welcome diversion! I thought to myself. In a matter of minutes, we loaded our golf clubs into John's 1972 Ford Pinto and hurried to the nearby Carrollwood golf course. Since it was raining steadily, the course was not crowded and we were able to tee off immediately. For the first five holes, it appeared that the Maxwell Mentoring Course on golf was working. 'What a great game --- thanks for asking me to come along,' I said to John. As we approached the sixth tee box, I courageously asked John to loan me his three-wood. He was proud of his new clubs and most willing to share them with his prized pupil. I stepped up to the tee box and took a practice swing. Feeling ready, I swung mightily at the little white ball. To this day, I don't remember whether I actually hit that ball, but what I do remember is the club slipping out of my hands and sailing twenty feet into the air. Embarrassing? You bet! And if that wasn't humbling enough, the three-wood landed in a pine tree. Maxwell was in a state of utter disbelief. 'You just threw my new club into a tree!' he cried. 'How on earth are we going to get it down?' Mustering all the confidence I had, I said, 'Give me your shoe.' Obediently, John sat down on the cart and handed me his golf shoe. I carefully aimed his shoe at the club and gave it a mighty heave, expecting it to knock the club out of the pine tree. To my dismay, his shoe got stuck in the same tree. Undaunted, I said, 'Give me your other shoe.' Again, without arguing, John handed his other shoe to me. Taking better aim, I tossed his shoe at the club, and missed again! Can you believe it? The second shoe stayed in the tree also. As the drizzle started to become a downpour, Maxwell stood up and said, 'Toler, you big dummy! No, wait a minute --- I'm the dummy! Stan, give me your shoe!' In a spirit of cooperation --- and fear --- I took off my shoe and handed it to him. And why not? He had a three-wood and two golf shoes in that pine tree. Taking careful aim, he threw my shoe at the club. Up it went, approximately eighteen feet in the air, and missed everything. Feeling more confident, I picked up my shoe and tossed it at the club. It missed the club, but as it fell downward, it knocked one of John's shoes loose. In the process, however, my shoe got stuck in the tree. John immediately grabbed his shoe that had fallen to the ground and clutched it defensively. Now neither of us had a complete pair of shoes, and still the golf club was stuck in the tree. By this time, several other golfers had passed the sixth tee, observing this Laurel and Hardy comedy routine. Remarkably, most did not speak or offer to help us. (Can you blame them?) When every effort had failed in retrieving the golf club, my esteemed friend finally climbed the huge pine tree and personally retrieved the club and our shoes. At that point, it began to thunder, and the rain was coming down even harder. The only thing left to do was quit for the day and go to the clubhouse for hot chocolate. Feeling embarrassed and helpless, we drove rapidly across the course to the clubhouse. As John opened the door, the room became silent. And that's when paranoia instantly gripped us. Sure enough, the other golfers had told on us! As we stood in the doorway, laughter erupted like you've never heard. We shut the door, turned right around, and went straight home. And believe me, it was a long time before we played golf there again.