The Donkey in the Well

May 17, 2015 ~ JodiLea

The Donkey in the Well

Donkey in a Well

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Sunday Reflections

April 12, 2015April 9, 2015 ~ JodiLea

April is National Poetry Month & I plan to write some. The following is not one of them, however.
It was written by Judge Roy Moore in Alabama, after being sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. I feel it should be read again this second Sunday in April.

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AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
America the Beautiful, or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims’ pride; I’m glad they’ll never see.

Babies piled in dumpsters, Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty, your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly poisoned by cocaine,
Choosing to indulge their lusts, when God has said abstain.

From sea to shining sea, our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God’s love and a need to always pray.

So many worldly preachers tell lies about our Rock,
Saying God is going broke so they can fleece the flock.

We’ve kept God in our temples, how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool, and Heaven is His throne.

We’ve voted in a government that’s rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges who throw reason out the door,

Too soft to place a killer in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby before he leaves the womb.

You think that God’s not angry, that our land’s a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God, from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do, but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children, will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face and mend our evil way:
Then God will hear from Heaven and forgive us of our sins,
He’ll heal our sickly land and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful, if you don’t, then you will see,
A sad but Holy God withdraw His hand from Thee.

– Judge Roy Moore

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As I mentioned, this is not the way I would have written the Judge’s message. But I sure see where he is coming from.

Negative Rooting, Like Crime, Doesn’t Pay

January 23, 2015 ~ JodiLea

It was a good idea at the time. Too bad it didn’t work.

If you’ve ever been here (this blog) before, you know I am a raving 49er Fan, so why did I throw a playoff game party? And even worse than that… we rooted for the Green Bay Packers. It made me feel trashy and disloyal.

Have I lost my mind? I know, it goes against my cheese-head hating self, but the bottom line is – we didn’t want the Seahawks going to the Super Bowl. Those guys are too damn cocky. They are a helluva good team and everyone knows it. They don’t need to be cocky. But yet, they are.

It was a good plan, a good party & fun with family. I’m very happy I did not bet on that game. Those Seahawks will be going to the super bowl again. And there is nothing you or I can do about it.

I sure was hoping that the Colts could keep ahead of the Patriots, for the game. Coach for the Patriots must have gotten his team worked up at half time. I would suspect a powerful and moving pep-talk or something, however, that’s old school now. The new school is tampering. Tampering with scholarships, favors, yada-yada. And now on the Fox News I find out someone is tampering with the balls. Just removing some air from the footballs – enough to make the balls more supple, allegedly, this makes the throwing and receiving of the ball easier. Of course, this completely screws the team’s place kicker & punter – because deflated balls have no lift.

Trust me on that.

What I don’t understand is – why these playoff balls aren’t kept away from both teams by the NFL. The balls, picked out by each team, get weighed and measured by officials, then they are given to the Ball Boys (who, BTW, work for the Stadium). That is a lot of opportunity for evil forces to tamper with the balls before the game. Who “ball sits” during the game and at half-time? Do they stay with the ball boys, referees, team staff? This Enquiring mind wants to know.

Wouldn’t there be a chance that the balls could get mixed up? And the Colts would get a flattish* ball? Wait a minute – wasn’t there a messed up Field Goal attempt by the Colts? Hmmm. And why are teams allowed to manage their own balls? Shouldn’t this be done by the NFL, to prevent just this sort of thing from happening? Sheesh.

The Pat’s won the AFC championship and they are going to the Super Bowl. Too bad the only questions reporters are asking, have to do with what they are calling Deflate-Gate.

Personally, I am suspicious that the game balls were tested after the game. It doesn’t sound like a normal procedure to me. So… balls were inspected after the football game was over. On whose request? Someone knew something fishy was going on. Somebody tattled. Vows to “get to the bottom of this” are made. Songs are being written using “who let the air out?” in the lyrics, replacing “dogs”.

It reminds me of High School.

* flattish [flat esh]; adv. somewhat flat [no lie, this definition is in the Webster’s Dictionary. Hee Hee.