|
~Pt.2~DONKEY TRACKS" ~~
~TRAILS OF LIVING~
THE ROCKING CHAIR TEST How are you at making decisions?
Years ago, a city family bought a cattle ranch and moved to the
wide-open country. After a month, friends visited the family in their ranch house. "What did you decide to name your ranch?" they inquired.
"Well," the husband replied, "I wanted to call it the Flying W and my wife wanted to name it the Suzy Q, but one of our sons liked the Bar J
and the other preferred the Lazy Y. So we compromised and call it the Flying W/Suzy Q/Bar J/Lazy Y."
"I see," said the visitor. "And where are your cattle?"
"None of them survived the branding!" said the rancher.
You, no doubt, make better decisions than that. But what do you do when you have a particularly tough decision to make? What do you do when your options are not at all clear?
When faced with a difficult decision, one man relies on what he calls the "rocking chair test." He imagines himself as an old man, nearing the end of his life. As he sits and rocks on his porch and contemplates his life, he asks himself if this decision will have any meaning to him. Will he be proud or ashamed of his decision? How will this decision have affected the course of his life?
The "rocking chair test" helps him take a long view of his options. If any decision passes the test, then he knows that it was a good choice.
What decisions are you presently struggling with? Take the "rocking chair test" today and make a better decision for tomorrow.
__ Steve Goodier
~TRAILS of LIFE ~ Smoke In complete oxidative combustion, solid or liquid materials are transformed into gaseous products called smoke. Wood, coal, and gasoline are burned into gases that contain no visible substance and quickly vanish. Carbon becomes carbon dioxide. Sulfur becomes sulfur dioxide. Nitrogen becomes nitrogen oxide. Hydrogen becomes water. Smoke varies depending on the material being burned and the conditions for oxidation, but the largest components are steam, hot gases, and suspended particles of carbon and soot. Incomplete combustion leads to more harmful and damaging smoke. Smoke can discolor buildings, destroy plant life, block sunshine, and interfere with breathing. As an example, tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 different chemicals including many which are known to cause cancer or exhibit other toxic effects. Smoke rises due to its higher temperature and lower gas density than air. As it rises, smoke diffuses into the air and disappears.When we are burdened with the trials of life, we can feel as weak as smoke. Our physical strength can be drained away by afflictions that leave us with no good to show for our struggles. Days, weeks, months, and years can be consumed into nothingness. In such moments, we are reminded of the brevity and fleeting nature of our lives. Grief can cloud our minds with despair. Sorrow can fill our spirits with depression. All of life can seem blackened by misery and loneliness. Any of us can experience times in our lives that are as empty, dark, and joyless as smoke. Our circumstances can distort our vision. Godâs children are neither immune nor insulated from the afflictions of life. Even the heroes of the faith have been overwhelmed with the struggles that lead to despair and depression. When we are burdened to the point of exhaustion, we most keenly feel our weakness. How do we respond when weâre ready to faint from the pressures of life? Cry out to the Lord. Beg for His rescue. We are weak and frail, but He is strong, mighty, and wise. He will not let us be stressed beyond what we can endure. Trust in His love. We may desire a quick fix to solve our problems but that may not be His plan. Follow His guidance. He will lead us in the best path through the tough times for His glory and our blessing. If you are not currently feeling overwhelmed, your time will come. With the forecast calling for a coming storm, how should we prepare? What do we have that can not be taken away from us? Health, financial security, friends, materials possessions, and family are wonderful blessings from God but they can easily be consumed like smoke. Any of these sources of joy can become a source of anxiety, despair, and misery. Only the spiritual blessings of God are eternal: freedom from the power of sin, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, communion with your heavenly Father, Christâs undying love, citizenship in heaven. Build your happiness and joy on these foundations and trials of life will not defeat you.
Psalm 102:1-3 "A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned like a hearth." 2002-2004 Peter Murphy
~TRAILS of SCRIPTURE~
"But this precious treasure--this
light and power that now shine within us--is held in
perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So
everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and
is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles,
but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but
we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God
never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up
again and keep going" (2 Corinthians 4:7-9, NLT).
I suppose there are times when all of us feel overcome by
problems and feel like quitting. I've been there, but couldn't
find anything better than my Christian faith to quit to. Today
I thank God for the courage to keep going, not knowing
that God was allowing trials to strengthen my faith and to
help me grow.
If you feel like giving up and quitting, perhaps the following
poem will encourage you to hang in, to hang on, but not
hang up when the going gets tough.
DON'T QUIT!
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow --
You may succeed with another blow!
Success is failure turned inside out --
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit --
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.1
I also like a quote that Robert Schuller uses: "When the
going gets tough, the tough get going." Or as the title of
one of his books says, "Tough Times Never Last. Tough
People Do."
God never forsook the Apostle Paul who faced incredible
trials and opposition. And he will never forsake you or me
as long as we place our trust in him.
~TRAILS of PRAYER~
Dear Lord, remind me, lest I forget, that You came not only to put away sin, not only the guilt and punishment of it, but sin itself. You came to change me so that I would no longer desire to sin. ... Help me Lord, to really understand this, so that I may repent and invite You to take over my life. Only then can You cleanse me, and put Your Spirit within me as You have promised. ... It all depends on me -- how sincere I am, doesn't it? In the name of Jesus I pray. -- Amen. Â 2000 by D. L. Hammond
~TRAILS of a RIDER of GRACE~
My web-site has been down for almost a week. Hope it will be working real real soon. I hope that this Donkey Tracks will be a blessing to you. I continue . to thank you for your support , and especially your prayers.
Would appreciate you telling your friends about this Donkey Tracks newsletter.God bless you all.
http://www.youens.com/mccoy/
"The White Donkey Society"
Internet Ministryof Grace for those that are disabled both physically & spiritually.
If This Material Was Forwarded To You & You Do Not Wish
To Receive It. Please Contact The Person Who Forwarded
It To You, As I Cannot Control Any Forwarded Mail.
This Mailing Cannot Be Considered Spam, As Long As I Include Contact Information & A Remove Link. If You Do Not Wish To Receive My Mailings, Reply to the e-mail address of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
With The Words "Remove Me"
If you would like to add a new address please reply with the words "Enlist Me
|
