~pt.2~DONKEY TRACKS" ~~
from: The White Donkey Society
Octomber 3, 2004
~TRAILS OF LIVING~
"Building Character" In the northeastern United States codfish are a big commercial
business. Note the following facts: There is a market for eastern cod all over, especially in sections farthest removed from the northeast coastline. But the public demand posed a problem to the shippers. At first they froze the cod, then shipped them elsewhere, but the freeze took away much of the flavor. So they experimented withshipping them alive, in tanks of seawater, but that proved even worse. Not only was it more expensive, the cod still lost its flavor and, in addition,
became soft and mushy. The texture was seriously affected.
Finally, some creative person solved the problem in a most
innovative manner. The codfish were placed in the tank of water along with their natural enemy--the catfish. From the time the cod left the East Coast until it arrived at its westernmost destination, those ornery catfish chased the cod all over the tank. And, you guessed it, when the cod arrived at the market, they were as fresh as when they were first caught. There was no loss of flavor nor was the texture affected. If anything, it was better than before. Each one of us is in a tank of particular and inescapable circumstances. It is painful enough to stay in the tank. But in addition to our situation, there are God-appointed "catfish" to bring sufficient tension that keeps us alive, alert, fresh and growing.
It's all part of God's project to shape our character so we will be more like his Son. Understand why the catfish are in your tank. Understand they are part of God's method of producing character in your life and mine. - Charles Swindoll
~TRAILS of LIFE~
WHERE HAS ALL THE SECURITY GONE?
The sun set last night and rose again this morning as it
has for thousands or millions of years. While some things
never change, we can't say that about life in the last few
decades--not to mention what lies ahead in the coming
years!
I read that if we were to put the entire world's knowledge
from the beginning of time until 1845 on a graph it would
measure only 1 inch tall. From 1845 to 1945--just 100
years--the graph would measure 3 inches tall. But from 1945
until today the graph would be as tall as the Washington
monument.
Change today is the order of the day. It has been said that
today's average worker will need to be retrained at least
three times during his working career to keep up with all
the changes. Changes in technology, lifestyle, philosophy,
morals, etc., are happening so fast it is difficult to keep
up with them all.
Furthermore, the security that so many of us knew in
earlier times has pretty much vanished. With escalating
terrorism worldwide unless we have an anchor for the soul
we can be left drifting on a restless changing sea of
uncertainty. But for those who have faith in God, of this
one thing we can be absolutely sure: He never changes! His
love is from everlasting to everlasting and he is still in
control of the world and universe no matter what. As the
Bible says, "I the Lord do not change."
Americans have engraved on their coins, "In God we trust."
But until that commitment is engraved on people's hearts
and we genuinely trust in the God who changes not, we will
have no lasting securit
~TRAILS of SCRIPTURE~
"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say
to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will
move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20,
NIV).
I remember reading years ago in Reader's Digest about a
company who glued a mustard seed to a brochure that was
advertising the product they were manufacturing. Beneath
the mustard seed they had words to the effect that: "If you
have faith as much as a grain of mustard seed in our
product, it will produce profound results for you."
Some months later a customer wrote back to the company
saying, "You will be interested to know that I planted your
mustard seed and it has already grown into a very robust
plant bearing healthy tomatoes!"
There's a fine line between faith and presumption. Every
one of us has mountains in our lives that can only be
removed by strong faith and a lot of hard work. That
mountain may be a bad habit, an addiction, a resentment, or
a toxic addictive person in your life who is destroying you.
We know it is God's will for us to deal with and overcome
these mountains.
Sometimes, however, we want to do something for our own
ends, and to justify it we say it is God's will, or God is
leading me, or God told me to do such and such. When we do
this, it is not faith but presumption.
True, we need faith to do what God wants us to do, but we
need to be certain that our faith is in the right seed!
-- Richard Innes
~TRAILS of PRAYER~ Dear Lord, today is Your gift to me! Let me not fret about the past re-living my mistakes and hurts, rather help me to learn from them. ... Remind me not to live for some tomorrow that may or may not come lest I miss the NOW. ... Let me treasure every precious experience large or small, good or bad, for I can enjoy it, or learn from it. Let me try to live each day to Your glory, for only then can I be sure that my life is indeed worth whileand precious to You. Thank You, Lord, for this moment --that I am here, and that You are with me! This is my joy At other times this is my comfort, my faith, and my peace In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. � 2000 by D. L. Hammond
~TRAILS of a RIDER of GRACE~
Sorry I wasn't able to get out this week's Donkey Tracks on time. I have been in the hospital for the last eight days. The doctor said that I was having heart failure . last Friday and put me in the hospital. They said that I have a heart flutter and also had a fluid buildup. Also have breathing problems. This week . they put in a pacemaker after removing over 3 liters of fluid. I will appreciate our prayers.
God bless you all.
http://www.youens.com/mccoy/
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