Spudly Joins the Captain

Last week I wrote about a potato character I dubbed Captain Potato. One of my friends read the post and enjoyed my crazy sense of humor so much that she caught what I’ll call the “potato funny bug.”

This is how it happened. Apparently, she was out Christmas shopping with a friend. She told me they usually spend a whole day together, from as early as they can get together to as late as they want to stay, just shopping and having fun.

That was the first sign that something was wrong – with the fact that they embraced the mall madness and weren’t afraid to shop till they dropped! Not only that, but they decided to spread as much joy as they could in the process, particularly to the tired and overworked staff in the shops. So they joked and talked and said “Merry Christmas!” to everyone they met. I really think they must have had too much eggnog or something funny in their lattes on a Starbucks break because…

my friend found a buddy for Captain Potato and brought him home for me! ;-)

When I unwrapped the package and found this little guy, I had to break out laughing! I knew my friend was thoughtful, but this time she had gone overboard! Captain Potato must have portrayed so much personality that she thought he was real and must be in need of a companion!

I actually had to take her into the kitchen to introduce her to Captain Potato and to introduce Captain Potato to his new buddy, who was named Spudly. Yes, that’s right. His name was right there on the bottom of his shoe, behind the brush part. So now the Captain has a backrubbing buddy!

In case you think I’ve really lost my marbles this time, and taken a good friend down too, may I suggest it might be time to add a little levity in the midst of your day today as well?! After all, Paul tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (-Phil. 4:4,NIV) It must be important if he said it twice!

Also, we are to actually “Consider it pure JOY, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” - James 1:2-3,NIV

Joy and rejoicing is also the theme for the Third Sunday in Advent (that was yesterday in the Lutheran Church and others). I can’t help but think of this verse so beautifully sung in Handel’s Messiah that gives us great cause as Christians to rejoice this day:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9, NIV

There are 156 passages with the word “rejoice” in it in the New International Version (NIV) alone. If you look up “joy,” you’ll find even more – 242. That would be a great exercise to do, especially if you have somewhat of a heavy spirit on any given day. Just go to www.BibleGateway.com/keyword/ and put in your chosen theme word or phrase. Then enjoy reading all the verses! It really is amazing how great you will feel when you look up words like strong, strength, peace, kindness, love, and other fruitful positive words or good attributes you’d like to focus on.

One thing I’m rejoicing about is the fact of this great tool on the internet! What a blessing in so many ways it has been to me! So I’ll pass it on to you to lighten your load. All thanks to my friend and Spudly for getting me started on this joyful journey today!