Five Riddles

Here are the five riddles I promised you yesterday. And yes, I've provided the answers.


1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three
rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of
assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that
haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over
5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go
out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

3. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when
you throw it away?

4. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words
Wednesday, Friday or Sunday?

5. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious as to just how quickly
you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary
and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact,
nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and
think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work
at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching!




THE ANSWERS TO THE * FIVE RIDDLES * .

1. The third room. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.
That one was easy, right?

2. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband,
developed it, and hung it up to dry (shot-held under water-and hung.

3. Charcoal, as it is used in barbecuing.

4. Sure you can name three consecutive days: yesterday, today and
tomorrow!

5. The letter 'e', which is the most common letter used in the English
language, does not appear even once in the paragraph.


That was fun - questions are so good for the mind!

A 'Funny' Break

Since we've been talking about questions I decided to share an email I got the other day... filled with questions. Funny questions! They remind me of an old column about 'things that make you go, hmmmm.....'




Can you cry under water?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway...

Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes,why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

Why do they have braille at the bank drive up window?


Tomorrow I'll post five funny riddles (and the answers) for you.

Ezer Part 12

It can be very hard to make sense of the world around us. I was talking with a lovely waitress the other day about tragedies that befall the most innocent among us. After stating that she believes in God, she asked with a pained face, ‘Why? How does a loving God allow this?’ That’s a tough question. The only answers I have aren’t usually enough to soften the face of the one asking. It’s a question we’ve all wrestled with, especially when the tragedy hits close to home.

I can say from experience that God will use our tragedies for our good and His glory. He’s done it in my life time and time again. Knowing this to be true doesn’t always make the next interruption of pain or sorrow any easier though. Maybe it would if we learned everything we needed to learn the first time around. But there’s always more to learn.

I do not for one minute believe that God causes tragedies. But I do believe He allows them to occur, because He’s allowed us all to make choices. Most of the time we won’t understand why or what good could possible come out of any tragedy. Oftentimes it’s not until after healing begins to take place that we can look back and see God’s hand in motion. Even then, or years later, there are things we look back at and still can’t make any sense of them. But still, His mercy is there.
One thing I know is that God is good, all the time. He is merciful and faithful to a merciless and faithless people. He trusts us, even when we don’t trust ourselves. In Jeremiah 29:13 God tells us: And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. In the midst of your heartache and grief, search for Him. He promises that you will find Him.

To be continued…

Ezer Part 11 - Questions and Answers

Hopefully you’re discovering some points to ponder as you read through these blog postings. If you have answers to some of the questions I’ve posed, please share them with us.

As I navigate through this walk of life I am constantly bombarded with questions. Perhaps it’s my personality type; I’m just curious by nature. But my need-to-know sometimes gets the better of me. I ask silly questions. I ask questions that none of us can really know the answers to until we can ask God Himself Face-to-face. To my human mind there are plenty of verses in the Bible that seem to conflict with each other – and for many people, that is enough for them to dismiss the idea of the Bible being accurate and directly from God. I’m a little more humble than that when I admit that my finite brain can’t yet boast to understand all of God’s thoughts and ways. I take God at His Word, even when I don’t completely understand what He’s saying. It’s not blind faith; it’s a faith that constantly asks God for more; more knowledge, more wisdom, more understanding, more grace, more compassion and more discernment. I want more of God Himself. There are plenty of things I know in my heart but can’t find words to express.

But honestly, I have more unanswered questions than I do answers. Most likely, because one good answer leads to dozens more questions. I’m okay with questions. To stop learning is to stop living. I’ve met people that don’t ask questions – maybe they’re afraid to ask or they’re afraid of the answer. Maybe they don’t even care enough about the answer to ask the question. Or maybe, just maybe – they need someone like me to ask the questions for them?

Ezer Part 10

Since God trusts us with the privilege of choice, I don’t believe we can rightly force others to believe the way we do – but believing as I do, I want desperately for others to live in freedom and look forward to the promise of heaven. I passionately want those I love to be spared eternity in the torments of hell. I can argue with God all I want that the people around me lack the capacity to make the wise choice. He doesn’t believe me at all. [smile]

While recently at the hospitals for tests, when Dave’s father argued to leave before the doctor cleared him to leave, some of us wanted to override his choice. He’d have been left with a very expensive bill that Medicare would not have paid and the tests they were running on him would have been rendered incomplete and therefore worthless. Fortunately, he wound up staying until the doctors had a diagnosis and were willing to send him home with antibiotics and oxygen for an infection and pneumonia. But he fussed and complained the whole time that he wanted the contraptions he was hooked up to unhooked and to put his clothes back on so he could go home. That would have been very unwise, but it was his choice to make. I presume he stayed because we argued back with him and gave him reason after reason to stay. But if they’d have wanted to admit him overnight we’d have either had to honor his choice or override his right to choose. Knowing we wouldn’t want anyone to override our right to choose, we’re glad it didn’t come to that.

Choose wisely.

Come back in a few days for more!