~pt.II~DONKEY TRACKS"
~~
from: The White Donkey
Society
February
2,
2005
~TRAILS of LIVING~
FRIENDLY FIRE
"Friendly fire," or fratricide, is a military term used when
troops of
one nation accidentally kill their own. Fratricide has
tragically
become a battlefield fact of life. David Foster in "Light and
Life"
(July 2, 1994),
tells us George Washington reported that during the
French and Indian
War, 400 casualties resulted from soldiers who
panicked and sent volley
after volley into their own ranks.
His own soldiers killed Stonewall Jackson,
Confederate general during
the American Civil War, in 1863 as he galloped
back into southern
lines.
Perhaps 10% of American casualties of World
War II and 15% to 20%
during the Vietnam Conflict were the result of
fratricide -- bombs
which were dropped by accident; errant rifle fire;
artillery shells
landing on the wrong targets.
"Friendly fire" is the
cause of countless casualties even today. Not
in battle, but in the workplace
and on the home front. Teachers who
are assailed by parents "burn out"
in just a few short years.
In-fighting within groups brings down
worthwhile organizations. Those
in the helping professions are set
upon by those they try to care
for. Co-workers undermine one another, at the
expense of productivity
and emotional health. Spouses fire verbal
(and sometimes physical)
shots at one another until mortally
wounded
marriages finally die. Families fight amongst themselves
with
little regard for the damage wrought.
The loss from domestic
"friendly fire" cannot be estimated. Yet these
casualties are
unnecessary and wasteful.
Someone said so well:
To come together is a
beginning;
To stay together is progress;
To
finish together is success.
Can an organization or family succeed when it
sustains damages from
within? The solution to the problem of loss by friendly
fire is found
in the word "together.' We have come together for
important reasons.
We are in it together. Through conflict and disagreement,
we must
stand together. And in the end, if we finish at all, we will
finish
together. - Steve
Goodier
~TRAILS
of LIFE~
Time Bank
Imagine there is a bank that
credits your account each morning with $86,400.
It carries over no balance from
day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you
failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out
every cent, of course!!!!
Each of us has such a bank. Its
name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every
night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good
purpose.
It carries over no balance. It
allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night
it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day's
deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There
is no drawing against the "tomorrow".
You must live in the present on
today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health,
happiness, and success!
The clock is running. Make the
most of today.
To realize the value of ONE
YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE
MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE
WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE
HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE
MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE
SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
Treasure every moment that you
have! And reassure it more because you shared it with someone special, special
enough to spend your time.
Remember that time waits for no
one.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present!
~TRAILS of SCRIPTURE~
Little
Foxes
Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our
vines have tender grapes. â Song of Songs
2:15 (NKJV)
For a time I lived
with my sister Jay in a beautiful farmhouse out in the rolling hills of
Maryland. Part of the house
was a log cabin whose wood dated back to the last century. With such old
timbers, we had to watch out for termites.
The first year or two
we didnât pay much attention to termites. We spotted just a few. We considered
calling an exterminator but then decided to compromise and use a can of bug
spray. We paid for it the following year. The termites came back and brought all
their second cousins.
Compromise in little
things leads to a greater downfall. Todayâs verse tells us to be wary of âlittle
foxes.â We are usually on guard against the âfoxes,â the big sins in our lives,
but itâs the little foxes, the minor, incidental sins, that we tend to
trivialize. Godâs Word warns us that itâs the little foxes, the small sins, that
spoil tender grapes. Small sinful habits stifle small good beginnings. Little
sins kill good intentionsâintentions that are tender and young, like the new,
little grapes on the vine that havenât had a chance to mature. This is the fruit
most susceptible to ruin.
Andrew Bonar says, âIt
is not the importance of the thing, but the majesty of the Lawgiver that is to
be the standard of obedience. Some people might reckon such minute rules as
trifling. But the principle is simply thisâis the Lord to be obeyed in all
things?â
Today you may be
sweeping some so-called little sins under the carpet: hedging on the truth,
claiming more deductions than you deserve on your income tax forms, or
fantasizing yourself into a real soap opera of a daydream. Wake up. Compromise
on little issues can lead to big spiritual problems. Donât let any little foxes
spoil Godâs vine.
Lord Jesus, I donât
want small sins to spoil whatever new things you want to begin in my life. Help
me to obey you in all things.
From More Precious
Than Silver, January 12, by Joni Eareckson Tada
~TRAILS of
PRAYER~
Dear
Lord, help me to leave spaces in my days for quiet growth, for new ideas, for
dreams and new insights, for new perspectives and directions, for listening for
Your quiet voice, and sensing Your will for me. ... Let me not limit my quiet
time with You, lest I miss out on what Your Holy Spirit has uniquely for
me! ... Let me not be impatient, afraid of being becalmed; let me learn to
wait until the breath of the Holy Spirit fills my sails, and I can set forth on
a course, secure in the knowledge that it is the one that You have charted for
me. In the name of Jesus I pray.
Amen. 1999 by D. L. Hammond
~TRAILS of a RIDER of
GRACE~
Hello again from the
cloudy skies of East Texas. Hopefully, the sun will be shining
tomorrow. Fireplaces are wonderfu during this type of weather, even though
they are a lot of trouble.
I went to a breathing doctor yesterday. Not
very enjoyable sitting in waiting room for three hours. The doctor did
prescribe a new type of breathing machine for me to try. Tests show that I
don't get enough sleep at night, which makes me sleep during the day.
Hopefully it works. Embarrassing to go to sleep at church.
I hope that
you enjoyed today's Donkey Tracks. I appreciate materials from you that I might
can
use.
In the Agape Love of
Jesus Christ, Jimmy
http://www.youens.com/mccoy/
"The White Donkey Society"
Internet Ministry of Grace for those
that are disabled both physically & spiritually.
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