THE TEACHING OF THE DONKEY

One day a farmer’ s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours, while the farmer tried to find something to do to get him out.

Finally, the farmer decided that the donkey was old and the well was already dry and needed to be covered anyway; that it really wasn't worth pulling the donkey out of the well..

He invited all his neighbors to come help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to throw dirt into the well.

The donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly loud. Then, to everyone's surprise, he quieted down after a few shovelfuls of dirt.

The farmer finally looked down into the well and was amazed at what he saw... with each shovelful of dirt, the donkey was doing something incredible: It was shaking off the dirt and stepping on top of the dirt.

Very soon everyone saw surprised how the donkey reached the mouth of the well, went over the edge and trotted out...

Life is going to throw dirt at you, all kinds of dirt... the trick to getting out of the hole is to shake it off and use it to step up. Each of our problems is a step up. We can get out of the deepest holes if we don't give up...

Use the land they throw you to get ahead!!!

Remember the 5 rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hate.

2. Free your Mind of distractions.

3. Simplify your life.

4. Give more and expect less.

5. Love more and... shake the dirt, because in this life you have to be a solution, not the problem!

SIX LITTLE STORIES WITH LOTS OF MEANINGS

(1). Once all villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of

prayer, all the people gathered, but only one boy came with

an umbrella. That is faith.

(2). When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because

they know you will catch them. That is trust.

(3). Every night we go to bed without any assurance of

being alive the next morning, but still we set the alarms to

wake up. That is hope.

(4). We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero

knowledge of the future. That is confidence.

(5). We see the world suffering, but still, we get married and

have children. That is love.

(6). On an old man's shirt was written a sentence I am not

80 years old; I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience.

That is attitude.

Have a happy day and live your life like these six stories.

Remember - Good friends are the rare jewels of life,

difficult to find and impossible to replace!!

Something to think about

What if you were a single parent with a child . You work full time for $14.00 hr. You bring home roughly $800 .00 per paycheck (bi-weekly).

Your bills:

$1, 000 . 00 / rent

$150 .00 / electrical

$250 .00 / car payment

$150 .00 / car insurance

So let’s do the math :

You bring home about

$1,600 .00 a month & your bills average about $1,550.00 (give or take).

You’re making it, but barely.

This doesn't even include groceries, internet, cable, cell phone, etc .

(nor does it include child tax credit, or child support)

Now, it’s a really cold December and you get a power bill for $600 .00

How do you pay that?

To put it simply , you don’t.

Because you can’t.

So your power gets shut off.

But you know what your lease says?

It says you get evicted if your utilities are terminated.

So now you’re in court crying to a judge who doesn’t care, & you have 10 days to get out.

Well you’re in luck, because you found somewhere with 3 days to spare & it’s only $650.00 a month!

But to get in, you must pass a background & credit check. Which you can’t because you just got evicted.

You’ve never been a criminal, but even if you could pass it, you’re looking at $1300 to move in, after paying the deposit & first month’s rent.

Time’s up ....

Landlord shows up at 7am with the police & changed your locks.

So, now you’re living in your car with your 7 year old son & everything you need to get by.

You tried to get a storage unit, but you don’t have a billing address so they won’t sell one to you. So you could only take what would fit in your backseat.

You pay to shower at local truck stops & eat whatever can be cooked in a gas station microwave.Someone sees you & your son living like this & calls C.P.S; guess what happens next ? ? ?

They remove your child from your care.

As if this isn’t devastating enough, you lose your job too. (Because “an employee losing their child reflects poorly on this company .”)

So now, you apply for an apartment with the region where the waiting list is 3-7 years.

Then you go into Wal-Mart to put in an application.

When you get back to your car you see that your back window has been smashed & someone helped themselves to your belongings. Remember that it is December & really cold. Now you have damage to your only shelter.

You call your car insurance, who says your deductible is $1,000.00

~ AND ~ they’re going to increase your monthly rate since you’re now

“ high risk .”

You call the homeless shelter as a last resort & all their beds are full.

I’ll stop here .....

Because I think you get the point .

The people we work with everyday are these people .

WE ARE THESE PEOPLE .

We are all so close to homelessness & don’t even realize it .

All it takes is :

* one unexpected bill~

* one fender bender~

* one lay-off ~

* one house fire , etc.

Instead of talking trash about people who are poor , homeless , or need assistance , why don’t you try being grateful that you’re not in their shoes ...... YET !

This is about staying humble & being kind .

BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE

Love God

 

This is one of the kindest things you may ever see..

It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14-year-old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4-year-old daughter, Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if

we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it.. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letterbox at the post office. A few days

later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand.. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies..' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets

to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by..

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her, especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,

God

2022 Kentucky Derby Winner

I do not own the rights to this story, photo and video.

 "Last year, a two-year-old colt finished dead last in his first race. Disappointed, his owners placed him in a “claiming” race where anyone could take the ownership for a fee. An older man purchased the colt after missing the chance to claim another horse he wanted. He said it was his last attempt to find some success in the racing industry.

The colt won by 17 lengths, and his new owner was encouraged. But, in the races that followed, he finished third twice, fourth once, and fifth once. His owner, however, still believed in him.

2022 was the colt's only chance to race in major thoroughbred races, which are limited to three-year-olds. The day before the Kentucky Derby, the field of horses was already full, but then, at the last moment, a famous trainer scratched (withdrew) his horse. The colt took that place in a field of twenty horses, just 30 seconds before the entry deadline. Suddenly, he was in the game. He had a chance.

All the metrics and predictors were against him. Neither his owner, his trainer, nor his jockey had ever been associated with any horse in the Kentucky Derby. His jockey had never even won a major event. They were decidedly outsiders and newbies in an extremely elite arena. On the morning of the race, his odds of winning were set at 80 to 1, the second longest odds in Derby history.

Halfway around the track, the colt was 16 horses back from the lead. He couldn’t even be seen in the field of view of the drone camera flying above the race. He was a nobody, a throw-away, an inconsequential participant.

But then, he made his move.

He began working his way through the crowded pack, finding a few narrow, fleeting opportunities to improve his position. As they headed toward the finish line, he had miraculously moved up to fifth, then fourth, but still, no one had noticed him. Everyone’s attention was firmly focused on the battle between the two famous front-runners.

Only seconds before the finish, he suddenly, almost magically passed the two front-runners. The announcer struggled to identify him and say his name in time. He said, almost in a single breath, “Rich Strike is coming up on the inside ... Oh my goodness! The longest shot has won the Kentucky Derby!”

Where there is life, there is hope.

Anything is possible.

Don’t let anyone count you out.

Persistence and determination beat the odds."

H/T Cyd Cowgill

***************************************

Y’all wanna teach your kids a life lesson in 2 minutes? Show them the replay to the Kentucky Derby Race.

1. Not the best starting position

2. Not the biggest or best horse

3. Only made it into the race on account of another horse having to scratch

4. $30,000 horse against multi million dollar horses

It ain’t always about having the best of everything or being the biggest and favored. It’s about the size of heart and dedication to win and excel in everything you do!

Well done Rich Strike

I do not own the rights to this video.

The Dance

 

Let me start off by saying that I do NOT own the rights to this song or this photo.

The Dance

Looking back on the memory of

The dance we shared 'neath the stars above

For a moment all the world was right

How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end, the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance

I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you, I held everything

For a moment wasn't I the king

If I'd only known how the king would fall

Hey, who's to say, you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end, the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance

I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss the dance

If our lives are better left to chance

Oh, our lives are better left to chance

Oh, our lives are better left to chance

I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss the dance

So now, my interpretation of this song.  I'm thinking that memories are considered as a dance.  Every time I hear this song, it makes me think of my Grandma and the memories I have of her.  Each memory being like a dance.  My brother and I were adopted at the age 6 (myself) and 5 (my brother).  The very first dance was when her and her work got together and sponsored my brother and I by giving us lots of toys and clothes.  Other dances were feeding horses, filling up tubs with water for the cows, learning to ride horses. Also staying the weekend with her and the best of them all, Christmas.  Many Dances. I really, really miss my Grandma Billie.  Until we meet agian...

Your Worth

 

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it...?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.

You are special-Don't EVER forget it." If you do not pass this on, you may never know the lives it touches, the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it may bring. Count your blessings, not your problems.

Greif

 

Greeting All.  Yes!  I am back again from another hiatus.  So much has happened since my last post. Cruises, Corona Virus, A New Nephew and the loss of my dad.  

This blog is about my dad.

So, I was surfing Facebook and came across a post that caught my eye.  Funny how it just shows up on my news feed.  My dad passed away on Nov. 30, 2021.  He had just turned 70 just two week before.  Anyway, here is what caught my eye...

Grief

I had my own notion of grief.

I thought it was a sad time

That followed the death of someone you love.

And you had to push through it

To get to the other side.

But I'm learning there is no other side.

There is no pushing through.

But rather,

There is absorption,

Adjustment.

Acceptance.

And grief is not something that you complete.

But rather you endure.

Grief is not a task to finish,

And move on,

But an element of yourself-

An alteration of your being.

A new way of seeing,

A new definition of self.

How fitting to read this as I am still trying to grasp the idea that my dad is no longer with us physically.  I saw him on his birthday.  We had to put him in a home where he would have 24 hour supervision due to him having severe Dementia. Anyway, he remembered who I was when I came to visit him on his birthday.  He was still coherent and could talk fine.  But, when it came to walking, he needed assistance.  Moved very slow.  Dementia is horrible.  

Two weeks later, mom got a call about my dad's breathing.  That evening, my mom, sister and brother went up to sit with him as we were told he had less than 24-48 hours.  At first, it was just mom, sis and I while my brother was flying in from Florida.  My dad's breathing was really rough.  It was like he was trying to catch his breath, pull for it.  Making big gasp.  The nurse on duty would come in every hour on the hour to administer morphine to help put him as ease.  My brother finally made it in about 10:30 pm.  We all just sat there watching dad gasp for air.  Finally, my sister told him it was ok to let go.  We all love him and always will.  And with that, at 12:08 A.M. Tuesday, November 30, 2021, he took his last breath.  His color changed within a matter of seconds.  R.I.P. Dad.  You will forever be in my Heart and all the wonderful memories I have.

So with that being told, I am guessing I am in the midst of grieving.  Seems like every other day something comes up and I think about him.  It still doesn't seem real that he is gone.  I'm not sure I will ever get over his passing.  

Until next time...