Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owner, Ron, and his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, “I know why.”

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”

The four-year-old continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

One Liner
One day you’ll find someone who doesn’t care about your past because they want to be part of your future.

Thought for the day
“Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine”  Ephesians 3:20 GW

Imagine the greatest things that could happen in your life. Whatever you imagine, God can outdo it!

There once was a magician who finally got his big break and got a job as a head-liner in Vegas. So, he was out doing his first performance and was just wowing the crowd! I mean they were eating this stuff up! Every trick he did had perfect timing; every trick came off so believable! He was on a roll.

He got down to his last trick and asked for an audience member to assist him. Even with how well he was doing, everyone in the audience was still hesitant. Finally, he pointed to a man in the audience and reluctantly the man came forward.

“Welcome sir! I will ask you to please take this mallet that I have here and, after I have laid my head on this block, I want you to smack me in the head with that mallet as hard as you can,” the magician said.

Well, of course the man was shocked and refused to do it.

The magician replied, “Sir, have I not wowed you tonight with my magic?”

“Well, yes you have but…”

“No buts, sir! Do you not trust that I am a professional magician that knows what he is doing?”

“I guess so,” the man replied.

“Well then, when I say I want you to smack me on the head with this mallet then I mean it. Trust me sir, I know what I’m doing.”

“Ok, I trust you.”

So, the magician lays his head down on the block, the man from the audience raises the mallet, the crowd gasps, the man brings down the mallet on the magicians head…and the magicians head is split clean open. Blood everywhere.

The magician is rushed to the hospital not looking too well. After hours in surgery, the doctors explain that they have sewed up the magician’s head but he is in a coma. They won’t know anything until he wakes up.

In the meantime, the man from the audience feels just horrible. He knows it’s his fault. He stays by the magician’s side every spare moment he gets.

Reading to him, telling him stories, all in the hope that one day soon the magician will wake up and he can apologize for this horrible thing he has done.

Four years this goes on. Then one day, out of the blue, the magician begins to stir. The man from the audience calls in the doctors and friends and family. Everyone is standing around the hospital bed waiting to see if he is going to be okay or if he can speak.

The magician opens his eyes and attempts to sit up in bed. He looks around at all the loving attention he seems to be getting from his family and friends. He sits up all the way in bed and looks around once more and says, “TA-DAA!”

One Liner
Why does “slow down” and “slow up” mean the same thing?

Thought for the day
“People who promise things they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain” (Proverbs 25:14 GNT).

The Bible says people who don’t follow through on their commitments are like clouds that never produce the benefit of rain. If you’re a person of integrity, you keep your word. When you say you’ll do something, you do it.

THINGS I’VE SEEN IN TEXAS

~ A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

~ There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in Texas

~ There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in Texas .

~ If it grows, it’ll stick ya. If it crawls, it’ll bite cha.

~ There is no such thing as ‘lunch.’ There is only dinner and then there is supper.

~ Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you’re two. We do like a little tea with our sugar.

~ “Backwards and forwards” means “I know everything about you.”

~ The word ‘jeet’ is actually a phrase meaning, ‘Did you eat?’

~ You don’t have to wear a watch, because it doesn’t matter what time it is. You work until you’re done or it’s too dark to see

~ You measure distance in minutes.

~ You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.

~ You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Texas Pete, Tabasco and Ketchup.

~ The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for high school football.

~ You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

~ Fried catfish is the other white meat.

One Liner
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Thought for the day
Proverbs 18:9 says, “Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism” (The Message). The Living Bible translates the verse this way: “A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things”.

God considers it a serious sin when we don’t give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Even if no one else at work gives their all, followers of Jesus should.

A couple was arranging for their wedding, and asked the bakery to inscribe the wedding cake with “1 John 4:18” which reads: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

The bakery evidently lost, smudged or otherwise misread the noted reference, and beautifully inscribed on the cake “John 4:18”: “For you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband.”

One liner
The secret of managing life is to keep the folks who can’t stand you away from the folks who are undecided.

Thought for the day
“Let the Spirit change your way of thinking” (Ephesians 4:23 CEV).

We must change the way we think. The Bible says we are “transformed” by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2)

Kitty Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray this cushy life to keep.
I pray for toys that look like mice,
And sofa cushions, soft and nice.
I pray for gourmet kitty snacks,
And someone nice to scratch my back,
For windowsills all warm and bright,
For shadows to explore at night.
I pray I’ll always stay real cool
And keep the secret feline rule
To NEVER tell a human that
The world is really ruled by CATS!

One Liner
He who throws mud loses ground.

Thought for the day
“God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God.” (1 Corinthians 6:20 CEV)

We don’t serve God out of guilt or fear or even duty, but out of joy, and deep gratitude for what he’s done for us. We owe him our lives.  

The weary holiday traveler looked in disbelief at a bunch of mistletoe hanging above the luggage check-in center. Turning to the attendant he said,

“Okay, I give up. Why is the mistletoe hanging there above the luggage scale?”

The attendant said, “So you can kiss your luggage good-bye

One Liner
Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.

Thought for the day
“Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life.” (1 John 3:14 CEV)

If I have no love for others, no desire to serve others, and I’m only concerned about my needs, I should question whether Christ is really in my life. A saved heart is one that wants to serve.

As the manager of our hospital’s softball team, I was responsible for returning equipment to the proper owners at the end of the season.

When I walked into the surgery department carrying a bat that belonged to one of the surgeons, I passed several patients and their families in a waiting area.

“Look, honey,” one man said to his wife. “Here comes your anesthesiologist.”

One LINER
You know that distant cousin of mine? The more distant the better.

Thought for the day
“Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know His law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it” (Romans 2:14 NLT).

They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right”.

My boss was complaining in a staff meeting the other day that he wasn’t getting any respect. Later that morning he went out and got a small sign that read, “I’m the Boss.” He then taped it to his office door.

Later that day when he returned from lunch, he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said: “Your wife called. She wants you to bring her sign back.”

One LINER
~ Why do they call it the Department of Interior when they are in charge of everything outdoors?

Thought for the day
Psalm 8:2
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise

Our function as humans is to glorify God!

Among the English language’s many puzzling words is “economy,” which means the large size in toothpaste and the small size in automobiles.

One LINER
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that’s falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

Thought for the day
“Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.’ There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and His apostles didn’t even have time to eat” (Mark 6:31 NLT).

Jesus experienced enormous stress and pressure, yet it didn’t seem to disturb His peace of mind. In spite of opposition, constant demands, and little privacy, His life reflected a calm sense of balance.

THE LAWS OF LIFE

1. When ones hands are covered in oil, grease, or glue, your nose will start to itch. (Law of Itchiban)
2. Your insurance will cover everything but what has happened.

(Incuranctions So Sorry Law)

3. The probability that one will spill food on one’s clothes is directly proportional to its need to be clean. (Law of Campbell’s Scoop)
4. Arriving for an appointment will cause the receptionist to be absent, and if one arrives late, everyone else arrived before you. (Law of De Lay)

One LINER
The pessimist may be right in the long run, but the optimist has a better time during the trip.

Thought for the day
Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Isaiah 43:18-19 (MSG)

Remember is that no one is perfect. We all have regrets; we’ve all made bad choices, and said foolish things; we’ve all wasted time, and hurt ourselves and others.

Accept Christ’s forgiveness. Forgive yourself and focus on the future.