Grif.Net

[Forwarded by a grif.net factory worker] I work in a major US factory. We
make refrigerators. Four thousand, five hundred new refrigerators every day
- but this focus is on one man who works in this huge factory.

I’ve seen him around for years but never paid much attention. He always
seemed just a little odd. A little short. A little …scruffy. Always the
same old red ball cap. And always a garbage bag in one hand. He walks around
this big old factory on his work breaks and on his lunch time collecting
aluminum cans. Day after day, month after month, on hot days and cold days.

Over the years I’ve followed him as he walked to his old pickup truck on the
coldest day with snow blowing and everyone with their collars turned up and
their hands in their pockets. He would be there with a 40 gallon garbage bag
full of aluminum cans. He’d toss it into the back of his truck and jump in
and I’d reach my car and jump in and we’d all race to the exit of this big
half empty parking lot.

Today I was working on a broken machine in this factory and the can man came
by with his bag picking up cans. Our manager was standing there because the
machine I was working on had been “down” for a couple of hours and he was
getting worried that we might run one of the assembly lines out of the
parts. I was finishing and I stood up just as the manager asked the can man
what he did with all those cans. I’d never thought to ask him that question
because I always just assumed he cashed them in at the recycle center.

The can man said “I give them to my neighbor. He’s epileptic and can’t hold
a job”.

I lifted up my head from the work and blurted out, “You mean you’ve been
collecting all those cans for all these years just to give to your
neighbor??”

“It ain’t much” he said “but I give them to him. He can’t hold a real job,
but he can take these cans to recycling and get joy out of being able to
help pay his bills”.

Right then and there in that dreary factory I found myself looking smack at
the face of Jesus. He was wearing a T-shirt and an old red ball cap and had
a garbage bag full of aluminum cans in his hand. It was one of the most
humbling moments of my life.

“Dear Lord, I offer my prayer for the can man and all others like him. I
don’t even know his name but You do. Lord, I lift him up to You. Bless him
and watch over him for his is surely one of your best foot soldiers. He is a
man whose feet I am unworthy to wash!! Thank you God for sending the can man
to help his neighbor and for the lesson he taught me. May I remember it long
after today. Amen!”

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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A young man called directory assistance. “Hello, operator, I would like the
telephone number for Mary Jones in Phoenix, Arizona.”

“There are multiple listings for Mary Jones in Phoenix,” the operator
replied. “Do you have a street name?”

The young man hesitated, and then said, “Well, most people call me Ice Man.”

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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If the red house was made out of red bricks, and the blue house was made out
of blue bricks, what was the green house made out of?
Glass!

What runs but never walks?
Water!

What kind of coat you can put on which doesn’t have buttons, a zipper, or
sleeves?
A coat of paint.

What do you throw out when you need it and take in when you don’t need it?
An anchor!

What starts with a T, ends with a T, and is full of T?
A teapot!

When is a door not a door?
When it’s ajar.

What’s a quick way to double your money?
FOLD IT!

Why did the man sleep with a yardstick?
To see how long he could sleep.

What did one wall say to the other wall?
Meet you at the corner!

What gets bigger the more you take away?
A hole!

What can you keep and give away at the same time?
A cold!

What did one eye say to the other?
Between you and me, something smells!

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had
everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often
sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was
notified and grieved deeply for his only son. A few months later the father
received a package in the mail with a note –

“You do not know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life.
He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet
struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you,
and your love for art. During my recovery in the hospital I thought about
your son and wanted you to have this.”

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the
young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the
personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes
that his own eyes welled up with tears. He tried to pay that young soldier
for the picture, but was told “Oh, I could never repay what your son did for
me. It’s a gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to
his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them
any of the other great works he had collected.

Some years later the wealthy man died. There was to be a great auction of
his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the
great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their
collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer
pounded his gavel.

“We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for
this picture?”

There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. “We want to
see the famous paintings. Skip this one.” But the auctioneer persisted.
“Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100,
$200?” Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting.
We came to see the Van Gogh’s, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!”
But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?”

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime
gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.”

Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. “We have $10, who will bid
$20?”

“Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.”

“$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?” The crowd was becoming angry. They
didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments
for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice,
SOLD for $10!”

A man sitting on the second row shouted. “Now let’s get on with the
collection!”

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”

“What about the paintings?”

“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a
secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation
until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever
bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the
paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!”

[God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the
auctioneer, His message today is, "The son, the son, who'll take the son?"
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.]

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the
aspirin bottle: “Take two aspirin” and “Keep away from children”

“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for
that. It’s called EVERYBODY.”

“My Mom said she learned how to swim when as a teenager her parents took her
out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, ‘Mom, they weren’t
trying to teach you how to swim.”

A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills
than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: “Duh.”

“I think that’s how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said,
‘My oh my, I’m enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn’t cold
enough. Let’s go west.’”

“If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be
dead.”

“Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography.”

“Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have
to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is
the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?”

“Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least they
can find Afghanistan.”

“You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look
that says, ‘My goodness, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!”

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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Driver Carries No Cash:
He’s Married

Take Your Ex Out Tonight
One Bullet Ought to Do It

Wife and Dog Missing
Reward for Dog

4 out of 3 People
Have Trouble with Fractions

I Child-Proofed My House
But the Grandkids Still Get In

Go Green
Recycle Congress

The Shortest Sentence is “I Am”
The Longest Sentence is “I Do”

Can Anyone Give Me Directions
To “Easy Street”?

If Money is the Root of All Evil
Why Do Churches Beg for It?

Guns Don’t Kill
Drivers with Cell-Phones Do

Work Hard. Pay Taxes
Millions of Illegal Aliens Depend on You

Fight Organized Crime in Washington
Elect No Democrats in 2010

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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Michelle Akers (Olympics Gold Medalist and World Cup Champion soccer player)
shares her testimony as the “best women’s soccer player on the planet”. But
life for Michelle doesn’t consist of only victories and honors, she sick
with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and she’s holding on by the very will and
courage that brought her to be the outstanding soccer player that she is.

It all began in 1991, immediately after the first ever Women’s Soccer World
Championship in China. Michelle began to feel tired and lethargic but
thought nothing of it for her travel and career schedule had been extremely
hectic throughout the previous months. She brushed it off as nothing and
went on with her busy schedule of soccer practices, public appearances and
many long plane flights. But as time went by Michelle Akers began to become
more and more worn out than usual. This concerned her and she decided to see
a doctor. As the doctor advised, Michelle rested for about a month and then
returned to her much loved life of soccer.

Two years had passed when Michelle Akers collapsed during a game and
realized that she was sick, not just tired or run down, but really sick.
After various tests consisting of echocardiograms, heart stress tests, blood
tests, and many others, Michelle was finally diagnosed with Mono, then
Chronic EBV, and finally six months later in the spring of 1994, CFIDS.

Michelle now had to accept the fact that this was going to change her life.
She couldn’t just take some pills and return to her normal life, this would
be a battle that she would have to fight for the rest of her life. Many
unwanted changes soon came into play. At her worst, Michelle Akers was
barely able to function or complete day to day activities. It was an extreme
effort to do laundry, prepare a meal, or attempt the exercise bike for a
mere five minutes. Many times, just doing those small chores knocked her out
for days or even weeks.

At her best Michelle could play 15-20 minutes of a 90-minute soccer match,
sometimes even that being too much for her. This was the hardest thing for
Michelle to accept. Before experiencing CFIDS, Michelle Akers soccer
training was more than anyone else on the team, pushing herself to extremes,
and getting away with it. Now Michelle found herself working out less and
lighter than everyone and often not being able to participate in practices.

The symptoms that Michelle Akers faced were overwhelming and sometimes
almost unbearable. They included: migraines, neck pain, night sweats, poor
sleep, weight loss/gain, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.
Sometimes this would force her to stay in bed for days at a time while she
could be playing in a World Championship, or signing autographs and speaking
to her millions of fans. During these long hours in bed, Michelle often
found herself asking what had happened to that strong, dynamic, tireless
Michelle Akers, and would she ever be seen again?

This is when Michelle realized that she had to make some mental changes as
well as all the physical changes. She began to grow closer to God and
realized that with his help she could get through anything. In her book,
Michelle states “The moment that I just rest, rest in the strength of God’s
perfect grace- is the moment that I overcome. The moment I am whole again.”

The mental changes that she went through were just the thing that Michelle
needed to prepare her for the 1996 Summer Olympics. She performed like the
Michelle that had no fears, the Michelle that outdid everyone, and they won
the gold. But this victory came at great cost for Michelle, each game
drained her to the point of near collapse. The team doctor had Michelle
hooked up to IV’s after every game.

Michelle may not be the soccer player she was before 1991, she may not be
outdoing all her teammates, but Michelle has certainly become a person of
determination and inner-strength that many people have turned to for
inspiration and hope.

Here is how this great female athlete talks to God: “Jesus, you are my Lord
and Savior. I am your child, liberated and depending on your power.
Therefore, Christ, this is YOUR day, to be lived for YOUR glory. Work
through my eyes, my mouth, and through my thoughts and actions to carry out
your victory . . . and Lord, do that all day long. Amen.”

~~
Dr Bob Griffin
bob@grif.net www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”

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