Winning Words 12/18/12
“A smiling face is half the meal.”  (Latvian Proverb)  The “family meal” seems to be a thing of the past, except at Thanksgiving and birthday parties.  At those times there are usually many smiling faces, especially when the “birthday song” is sung.  I read an article on nutrition which began, “Grandmother was right.  Happiness aids digestion.”  It went on to say that a positive attitude around the table is as important as veggies.    ;-)  Jack.

 FROM BM IN MICHIGAN:  The Optimist creed has a lot of wisdom behind it, including:  “Give every living creature you meet a smile.”  Often our family (kids, grandchildren, in-laws) meals are out (Red Robin, Calif. Pizza Kitchen, etc.), the advantage being that the children have nowhere to go, with more interaction than at home.  What do you think about that? ////FROM JACK:  I remember our first experience of taking our young son to a restaurant (Bill's Fine Foods in Wausau, WI).  He wanted to do what he did best at the time...yell.  If we had been at home...no problem.  We can be ourselves at home, and that's what we do best.  I'll take a family dinner at home over a restaurant meal anytime.////BM:  My father always said what you say and that my mother’s cooking was the best.  We rarely ate at a restaurant.////JACK:  During the Great Depression we couldn't afford the luxury of a restaurant.

 FROM WALMART REV:  Another good post for "Winning Words"////FROM JACK:  When you eat a meal at Walmart, do you have a smile on your face?

 FROM CS IN WISCONSIN:  Something to make you smile...
1) You can't count your hair.
2) You can't wash your eyes with soap.
3) You can't breathe when your tongue is out.
Put your tongue back in your mouth, you silly person.
Ten (10) Things I know about you.
1) You are reading this.
2) You are human.
3) You can't say the letter ''P'' without separating your lips.
4) You just attempted to do it.
6) You are laughing at yourself.
7) You have a smile on your face and you skipped No. 5.
8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.
9) You laugh at this because you are a fun loving person & everyone does it too.
10) You are probably going to send this to see who else falls for it.
You have received this e-mail because I didn't want to be alone in the idiot category. Have a great Day. Laugh, and then Laugh and sing It's a Beautiful Morning even when it's not.
////FROM JACK:  Yes, I did smile.

 FROM LP IN PLYMOUTH:  Thankfully with tots of only 1 and 5 yrs old, we still eat together for dinner. Those nights when I have to teach or work late we are usually blessed to have a Grandma (and sometimes a Granddad too) to fill Mommy's chair. Though I am looking forward to Christmas dinner when we have to figure out how to put 12 chairs around our table :)////FROM JACK:  I don't know if it was a miracle or not, but Jesus managed to get thirteen around the table for the Last Supper.

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  We still have family meals, we still say Grace and sometimes our food gets cold because all the little ones want to pray and you know how that goes..."Thank you Jesus for trees, cookies, KoKo, Opie, Chief, flowers.....etc etc etc .  When it's just the two of us things are different though.  We miss when everyone is over, although some part of the family is over about 4 times a week.  I still cook like I'm feeding 10 each day, but the leftovers never go to waste.  God is so very good and He gave us free smiles to share....and they don't even hurt when we do share!!!  :-) ////FROM JACK:  Maybe we can learn something about praying from the little ones.  "Unless you become as little children...," said Jesus.

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Hooray for the "Happy Meal."////FROM JACK:  McDonald's is expanding in Latvia, and The Happy Meal is called, a real bargain.