Category Tail Feathers

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The Legend of the Friendly Beasts

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

There’s an old Christmas legend about the animals who shared the stable with the Christ child. Each animal bestowed a gift on Him. The legend says the animals in the stable gained the power of speech for that night.

Jesus, our brother, kind and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude;
And the friendly beasts around Him stood.
Jesus, our brother, kind and good.

"I," said the Donkey, shaggy and brown,
"I carried His mother up hill and down; 
I carried His mother to Bethlehem town." 
"I," said the Donkey, shaggy and brown.



"I," said the Cow, all white and red,
"I gave Him my manger for His bed;
I gave Him my hay to pillow His head."
"I," said the Cow, all white and red.



"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn,
"I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm;
He wore my coat on Christmas morn."
"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn.
"I," said the Dove, from the rafters high,
"I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry;
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I."
"I," said the Dove, from the rafters high.
Thus every beast by some glad spell,
In the stable dark was glad to tell
Of the gift he gave Emmanuel,
The gift he gave Emmanuel.

The Mouse and the Mousetrap

Allen Frederick 2 Comments

 

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“If then you were raised with Christ,
seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above,
not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2)

A mouse looked through the crack

 

 

in the wall to see the farmer

and his wife open a package.


‘What food might this contain?’

the mouse wondered.

‘Maybe my favorites, cheese and fruit!’ he said to himself.

But he was devastated to discover

it was a mousetrap!


Retreating to the farmyard,

the mouse proclaimed the warning :

There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!’


The chicken clucked and scratched,

raised her head and said,

‘Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave

concern to you, but it is of no consequence

to me. I cannot be bothered by it.’


The mouse turned to the pig and told him,

‘There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!’


The pig sympathized, but said,

‘I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse,

but there is nothing I can do about it

but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.’


The mouse turned to the cow and said,

‘There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!’

The cow said, ‘Wow, Mr. Mouse.

I’m sorry for you,

but it’s no skin off my nose.’


So, the mouse returned to the house,

head down and dejected,

to face the farmer’s mousetrap . . . alone.


That very night a sound was heard

throughout the house — like the sound

of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught.


In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake

whose tail the trap had caught

The snake bit the farmer’s wife.


The farmer rushed her to the hospital,

and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever

with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer

took his hatchet to the farmyard

for the soup’s main ingredient.


But his wife’s sickness continued,

so friends and neighbors came to sit

with her around the clock.

To feed them,the farmer butchered the pig.


The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral,

the farmer had the cow slaughtered to

provide enough meat for all of them.


The mouse looked upon it all from his

crack in the wall with great sadness.


So, the next time you hear someone is

facing a problem and think it doesn’t

concern you, remember —-


when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.


We are all involved in this

journey called life.

We must keep an eye out for

one another and make an extra effort

to encourage one another.

 

REMEMBER. . . . . .

EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON’S TAPESTRY;

OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.


 


Living in the Land of Denial

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

 

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor

Insight from the Journey across the Sky

People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound. James Allen

“We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of these [often false] assumptions.” — Stephen Covey

 

 

You say, ‘I’m rich. I’m wealthy. I don’t need anything.’ Yet, you do not realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Rev 3:17 (GW)


Russian icon of the Last Judgment (16th century).
Image via Wikipedia

Many people live their lives in a state of denial. An altered state of reality you could say. A place where, in their opinion, everything is as it should be, but those around them hold to a different viewpoint. Those who insist that all is well yet do not realize their life is in need of a drastic make-over.

 

We live in an age of enablers who continually prop up and reinforce bad behavior by not insisting upon a change in that bad behavior. The government bail out is an excellent example of enabling bad behavior. If we are never left to FAIL we will never learn to succeed. If we continually think all is well, we will never seek to change. If our bad actions do no have equally bad consequences then there really is no incentive to alter our behaviors.

There are certain behaviors that are harmful to ourselves and others and should not be encouraged let alone propped up and supported so that it continues.

Many live lives of quiet desperation, never knowing the peace and joy they could have if they only surrendered their misguided attempts of leading their life to someone who is capable of leading them into paths of right living, peace and contentment. They tell themselves that all is well.

All of us will have to give an account of ourselves to God. Romans 14:12 (GW)

Judgment day is coming. A time is soon at hand where we all must face the judge and give an account of our manner of living. It is soon time to pay the piper, to face the music, to reap what we have sown. Are you absolutely certain all is well with your life?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

 

 

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A Franciscan Benediction

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

eagletail feather.gif (350x76 pixels)
“If then you were raised with Christ,
seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above,
not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2)

May God bless you with DISCOMFORT …
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with ANGER …
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with TEARS …

To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war.

So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them And to turn their pain into JOY.

And may God bless you with enough FOOLISHNESS…
To believe that you can make a difference in this world,
So that you can DO what others claim cannot be done. Amen

The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi

Gregorian Chants: The Franciscan Monks of Assisi

Gregorian Chant: Early Recordings

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Bankruptcies at all-time High

Allen Frederick 2 Comments

Random ramblings from the resident raptor.

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org


BANKRUPTCIES AT ALL-TIME HIGH

Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis

This topic of bankruptcy caught my eagle eye and I thought I would respond. Many financial talking heads like Larry Burkett and others speak about the Christian’s obligation to repay debts even if they file bankruptcy and that really got me to thinking. When GOD established Israel He instituted laws to regulate the society based on HIS way of doing things. Let’s take a look at what God had to say about this subject of borrowing and exacting usury.

Exodus 22:25 through Exodus 22:28 (NIV)

“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Again we read:

Leviticus 25:35 through Leviticus 25:37 (NIV)

“‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit.

Deuteronomy 23:19 through Deuteronomy 23:20 (NIV)

Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.

And then there is:

Proverbs 28:8 (NIV) \

He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.

Now then we see that IF WE Christians were living like we were supposed to be living we would not be in the position of being in debt to THOSE WHO EXACT USURY. We are commanded to take care of our brothers and sisters and to lend without interest so that our brothers and sisters can remain amongst us. I am not going to expound too much on that. I think that is pretty self explanatory. NOW then if someone is in debt what did God say to do about it?

The Year of Jubilee was when all debts were to be forgiven and property being held returned to the original owner. Now then it seems like God had a great way of dealing with borrowing and debt relief. HOWEVER in our modern world we seem to have for-gotten God’s ways and replaced them with a system that exacts usury on its citizenry WITHOUT a method of redemption. I feel that bankruptcy is the closest thing to THE YEAR of Jubilee we have going for us and if a person gets into the bondage of HEAVY DEBT and is being TAXED with HEAVY usury then it is only fitting that there is a way of escape.

It would seem the financial talking heads today are missing this very important portion of GOD’S economy. Take care of our OWN and help our brothers and sisters out without taking advantage of them with excess interest. And if they do happen to get into a mess then in the year of Jubilee which came around once every 50 years then all those debts are supposed to be forgiven.

Interesting, many Christians pray THE Lord’s Prayer which addresses FORGIVING OUR DEBTS as we forgive those who are indebted to us. But then we turn around and exact excessive interest on our brothers and sisters and place them in bondage. THIS ought not to be.

It really is no wonder that America finds itself in a real financial mess. We have been violating the laws of God for quite a long while and it has only led us into financial bondage and an unbridled lust for more. We have been living beyond our means for quite some time and I guess to quote the Reverend Jeremiah Wright “America’s chickens have come home to roost”. Or in other words we have sown the wind and have reaped the whirlwind. (Hosea 8:7)
We can not continue to spend beyond our abilities to repay without ending up in some sort of slavery. Without a remedy of forgiveness those who are thusly enslaved will remain that way until they have paid their debt in full.

A person without good sense closes a deal with a handshake. He guarantees a loan in the presence of his friend. Prov 17:18 (GW)

From the sounds of things Christians should not have a problem with debt if we were living according to the scriptures. What say you?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)
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