Smuggling Laughter

I'm slowly smuggling pens out of the office. So far this week--the only week I've taken up this practice--this is my second pen (the one I'm writing with*). It's an old pen, with "Jensen Machine Compa" (not a typo) inscribed in several different font sizes, styles and colors. I would presume it to be a sample pen from a company looking to make a profit in that niche. Specially designed pens to promote your business to whomever's hands they happen to fall into. I must say, I'm impressed. I think I'll look up this "Jensen Machine Compa" when I get home.

*[I'm writing this down on a graph pad, to be translated into type later, or now (depending on your perspective in time)]^

I'm taking the time to write all this while the jig borer (a Pratt & Whitney, probably from the 1950's or 60's) rhythmically churns out blue, spirally steel chips. But Adam, steel is silver. That's true, but these chips are being pulled away from the bearing hard and fast, which creates lots of friction. Friction creates heat, heat leads to the dark side. I mean heat causes (I don't know how) the chips to change color. Gold chips are pretty hot. But the really hot ones are beautiful. They come out in blues and purples. And the neatest thing is that the change is permanent. They stay that color.

Kind of like the way God changes us through trials. It's hot, but we come out blue abe beautiful. Maybe even a little spirally. Or maybe the chips come off to reveal the beautiful silver underneath (I'm working with heat-treated bearings which are deep red and black, so silver looks great when it appears), and the chips are junk that blocks that beauty. He makes something beautiful out of something ugly.

Which brings me to humor. Actually, not really, but I do want to talk about it.

Yesterday was filled with laughter. There was so much humor in my day, including (and you won't necessarily get it) stories of people getting caught in an updraft (while hang gliding or parachuting) which evolved into whales doing the same (the story, not the people). Then there was Shia Labeouf leaking the title for the new Indiana Jones movie. "Indiana Jones and the Missing Tuba".

I love to laugh. I love it even more so when it's shared. Alyss and I laugh a lot together. We love to play. To make things up or find the humor in something we're doing. We enjoy just being kids together. All be it two kids in love, but still kids. We like games that you play simply for the joy of playing a game. My heart is getting nice and warm thinking about all this. You know, like sitting by a fire under a blanket in the winter. This is a blessing with the weekdays going the way they have. Thirty second phone calls just to say what we're doing and that we have to go. So it's nice to think about laughing together. It's a huge gift from God. Or a small gift that's REALLY meaningful.

I think I'll stop there and hold onto this for a while.

^[Normally, any special notes marked by an asterisk, or that little cross, go at the end of a given piece of literature, like this. I just felt like being different, I guess.]