I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy a good joke. Heck, as a writer of humorous stories, I work jokes I’ve heard into my books. Often, it will be just a phrase I’ve heard and thought funny, or sometimes it will be an entire joke rewritten in a different way.
I want to share something I read many years ago and thought it was one of the funniest bits of Holy Humor I’d come across. I don’t recall exactly where I read it, but I think it was in an advice column of Dear Abby or Ann Landers. Many readers wrote in to complain about unwanted guests showing up unannounced.
The letter went something like this:
A congregation had a visiting preacher and he announced from the pulpit he would be doing random visitation while in the area. Then he told a story of a preacher who went to visit a church member. The minister knocked on the door, but no one answered. He could hear a television, so he knocked again, and still, no one responded. He took out one of his business cards and on the back of it wrote, Revelation 3:20,…”Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will open, I will come in.” He left it in the screen door.
The next Sunday, after the church service, as he was greeting the members, a lady handed him a business card and on the back she’d written: “I heard thy voice and I was naked so I hid myself…Genesis 3:10
I think that’s funny.
In each of my books, I work in a little Holy Humor. Since my series takes place in small town Texas, religion is an important part of life. Now, before you city folk jump on me and say religion is important regardless of the location; I’m drawing from my childhood. Growing up in Brownsboro, population 403,(at the time) every social function revolved around school or church. And as in all small towns, everyone knew you and your family. When summer came, I, along with all the other kids, in spite of the church we belonged to, we went to every Bible school in town. We also attended every revival. Old time revivals… remember them?
Anyway, it’s the small town atmosphere from my past that influences a lot of what I write.
I have a new book, YOU’RE BUSTING MY NUPTIALS, due out next month and in it, I talk about some Positive Jesus and Negative Jesus!
Do you have some Holy Humor you want to share? If you do, send it to me. Like I said, I always enjoy a good joke!!
Loved it and I have never heard it before. Of coure, the way you tell anything makes it delightful. This piece of humor really made me think about several unrelated things. Doesn’t that just drive your crazy about good humor; it make you think.
Thanks for your newsletter visits. Looking forward to many novels to come. I seldom give the lighter novels that I enjoy now 5 stars on Goodreads.com unless I have read them at least three times. I gave Laid out and Candle Lit a 5 star review on my first reading. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jeanie!
It always makes me happy when someone says they like my work. If something I write gets a giggle or two from the reader, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog post and comment. With so much to choose from, I’m honored you chose something of mine to read.
~Ann