WATER CREATURE STORIES, COME ON FOLKS, ENJOY... ITS SUMMER!!!!!

Just wondering, are you enjoying your summer? The days, and weeks are flying by. Better enjoy each day, they are all such a gift! (and times goes so quickly, and is so absolutely uncertain) HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW!

“There’s always room for a story that can
transport people to another place.”
―J.K. Rowling

Let me distract you for a moment and tell you four short stories. These are old stories – familiar stories.  The people and the circumstances differ slightly for everyone who tells them, but the core lessons remain the same.I hope the twist we’ve put on them here inspires you to think differently…

  All the Difference in The World

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home.  There’s a lake located in one corner of the park.  Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her.  As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap.  There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap.  She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush. “Hello,” I said.  “I see you here every

Sunday morning.  If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.” She smiled.  “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied.  “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim.  It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.” “Wow!  That’s really nice of you!” I exclaimed. She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out.  It’s my own strange way of making a difference.” “But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked. “Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied. I scratched my head.  “Well then, don’t you think your time could be better

spent?  I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world.  And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells.  So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?” The woman giggled aloud.  She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in his world.” The moral: You can change the world – maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one good deed at a time.  Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference.  It does. 

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Shark Bait

During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank. As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish. The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put

the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other. Again, the shark quickly attacked.  This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off.  Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail.  Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition.  Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up. This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks.  Each time, the shark got less

aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether. The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack.  The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm. The moral:  Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go. 

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Oh boy, there is always one in every crowd! lol.. but aren't they the life of the party, the smile on your face, and the giggle in your heart?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE FAITH IN THE ONE WHO ALWAYS HAS HIS HANDS UPON YOU.. HE CAN AND HAS WALKED ON WATER! HE WON'T LET YOU DOWN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praying for each of you and yours today and daily that He will wrap His loving arms around each of you and bless you spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, financially and with His unconditional love, forgiveness, guidance, mercies and grace. Praying for the sick, the hurting, the lonely, the abused, the jobless, the homeless, and all the many who are grieving, that God will bless you in the special ways that only HE knows that you need. Praying for the safety and protection of our soldiers, and that they will quickly and safely be able to return home to loving families, due respect, and an abundance of jobs. Praying for the violence that has been going on.. Please Father, protect the innocent... Praying for our country, that our leaders, and each of its people turn to You and guide us all to do Your will for our country! AND GIVING YOU OUR LOVE, THANKS, HONOR, PRAISE AND GLORY IN JESUS HOLY NAME, AMEN