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A scorpion, being a very poor swimmer, once asked a turtle to carry him on his back across a river. "Are you mad?" exclaimed the turtle. "You'll sting me while I'm swimming and I'll drown." The scorpion laughed as he replied, "My dear turtle, if I were to sting you, you would drown and I would go down with you. Now, what would be the point of that? I won't sting you. It would mean my own death!"
The turtle thought about the logic of his argument for a few moments and then said, "You're right. Hop on!" The scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river, he gave the turtle a mighty sting.
As the turtle began to sink to the bottom of the river with the scorpion on it back, it moaned in dismay, "After your promise, you still stung me! Why did you do that? Now, we're both doomed."
The drowning scorpion sadly replied, "I couldn't help it, It's in my nature to sting."
Study the character of a person before you make them a friend. The stage on which their character plays is going to be your life.
Source: via David Zimmerman in "Baptist Preachers" mailing list
Topics/Tags: Character; Nature; Friendship
I would offer this thought about fear and love. First of all, fear has power because fear offers no security. There is no foundation when fear takes over.
Watching the documentaries of wildlife seems to illustrate a portion of that. The predator (lion) stalks the herd and finally, although they all know he is out there, a lone animal wanders away. The sense of danger becomes acute and the animal suddenly understands he is out of the protection of the herd. His security is gone. His response is to run as fast and as hard as he can, but he often runs right into the very danger he is attempting to escape. Why? because he has no security and the running has no direction. Running + No security = panic = lunch for the lion.
Now consider the herd and the animals that do not leave the herd. First of all, the lion knows he cannot attack the herd. It is too strong. Second, the herd knows they have the combined strength to ward off any attack. Third, since they have a sense of real security, they gather to protect the little ones. They don't run in fear, but stand firm in their security and safety.
To me, this is a good illustration of many truths, but it shows the need for the security of the only sure and safe protection from things that would seek to bring destruction into our lives. We have the opportunity to stand strong and secure in the herd (the church and the power of the Holy Spirit) or we can wander off alone and be picked off.
PS>>>The herd stands together because it is their instinct. The children of God have the Holy Spirit prompting them (instinctive to follow Him) to stand together and depend on the power of God's love in Christ.
Source: Dave West. In "Baptist Preachers" email discussion list, 2/3/1999.
Topics/Tags: Security; Nature; Fear; Confidence
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright told how a lecture he received at the age of nine helped set his philosophy of life. An uncle, a stolid, no-nonsense type, had taken him for a long walk across a snow-covered field. At the far side, his uncle told him to look back at their two sets of tracks. "See, my boy," he said, "how your footprints go aimlessly back and forth from those trees, to the cattle, back to the fence and then over to where you were throwing sticks? But notice how my path comes straight across, directly to my
goal. You should never forget this lesson!"
"And I never did," Wright said, grinning. "I determined right then not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had."
Source: John Keasler, McKnight Syndicate
Topics/Tags: Beauty; Appreciation; Nature
A five-year-old girl was watching a brilliant sunset one evening. As she gazed at the blend of colors, she commented to her mother, "My art teacher told me today not to mix orange with purple. I guess no one ever told God."
Source: Parent Life, 4/1999, p. 48.
Topics/Tags: Nature; God, creator; Creation; Beauty
Actual questions asked by visitors to US National Parks…
======Grand Canyon National Park:
Was this man-made?
Do you light it up at night?
I bought tickets for the elevator to the bottom--where is it?
Is the mule train air-conditioned?
So where are the faces of the presidents?
======Everglades National Park:
Are the alligators real?
Are the baby alligators for sale?
Where are all the rides?
What time does the two o'clock bus leave?
======Mesa Verde National Park:
Did people build this, or did Indians?
Why did they build the ruins so close to the road?
Do you know of any undiscovered ruins?
What did they worship in the kivas--their own made-up religion?
Why did the Indians decide to live in Colorado?
======Carlsbad Caverns National Park:
How much of the cave is underground?
So what's in the unexplored part of the cave?
Does it ever rain in here?
How many Ping-Pong balls would it take to fill this up?
So what is this--just a hole in the ground?
======Yosemite National Park:
Where are the cages for the animals?
What time of year do you turn on Yosemite Falls?
What happened to the other half of Half Dome?
Can I get my picture taken with the carving of President Clinton?
======Denali National Park:
What time do you feed the bears?
What's so wonderful about Wonder Lake?
Can you show me where yeti lives?
How often do you mow the tundra?
How much does Mount McKinley weigh?
======Yellowstone National Park:
Does Old Faithful erupt at night?
How do you turn it on?
We had no trouble finding the park entrances, but where are the exits?
Source: Nick's Humor List
Stories from U.S. National Parks...
A visitor to Glacier National Park in Montana lost his car keys while attempting to lure a ground squirrel by dangling the keys out in front of the critter. The squirrel grabbed the keys and ran down a hole with them. The keys were never retrieved, a ranger cited the man for harassment of wildlife, and a locksmith was called to make new car keys.
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In May of 1994, Tony Moore, 43, of Marietta, Georgia, was gored and seriously injured by a large male bison in Yellowstone, next to the Lake Hotel. Moore and a friend had approached to within 15 feet of the bison to have their pictures taken. While they were standing with their backs to the animal, it charged. Moore's companion escaped, but Moore received a severe puncture wound in his right thigh and was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Jackson for treatment.
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A visitor setting up camp at Lake Eleanor in Yosemite National Park hit herself on the head with a rock while trying to string up her food to protect it from bears.
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In 1994, a woman visiting from the Bay Area embarked on a solo hike to the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite. When she became lost and saw a storm brewing, she called 911 from her cellular phone and asked to be rescued. A helicopter found her barely off the trail … and only 1/4 mile away from the mountain's summit! When the 'copter lifted off and the woman saw how close she was to her summit goal, she asked the crew to set her back down so that she could complete her hike. When the crew declined, she threatened to sue them for kidnapping!
Source: Debra Shore, qtd. in Nick's Humor List
Topics/Tags: Recreation; Nature
Actual questions asked by visitors at US National Parks…
________
"What time do they let the animals out in the park?" --Visitor at Denali
National Park
"Why did the Indians only build ruins?" --Visitor at the Grand Canyon
"What is your best parking area?" --Visitor at Zion National Park
"Where's the road to the summit?" --Visitor at Mount Rainier National Park
"Don't you think the polluted sky makes a much prettier sunset?" --Visitor
at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Source: Nick's Humor List
Stories from U.S. National Parks...
Each year visitors to Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona pocket an estimated 12 tons of petrified wood to take home (despite numerous warnings not to take wood and the fact that this criminal violation carries a minimum fine of $275). Some years back, several female foreign visitors, clad only in bikinis, were observed hiding wood in their garments. Another time, rangers received a report that a man had put a large piece of wood in his car. Upon searching his vehicle, they found a 40-pound piece of petrified wood in his trunk. According to rangers, this visitor said he didn't know how it got there. "My four-year-old son must have put it in there," the man said.
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A group of European visitors came into the Wawona ranger station in Yosemite National Park and said, "Our car is parked at the trail head and it's been blown up by terrorists." Though rangers expressed some doubt, the visitors insisted that a bomb had exploded in their car and that they could see powder residue from the explosives. Investigating rangers indeed found that a door had been torn off and a powder-like substance--pancake flour--was strewn about the car."They were quite embarrassed when we showed them the BEAR PAW PRINTS around the car..." the ranger said.
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A camper at Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park decided to take a dip in the lake with her dog despite signs saying "No swimming--Danger--Alligators."She swam to an island about 75 yards from the shore, then saw some alligators and refused to swim back. "Didn't you see the signs?" asked the ranger who retrieved her in a canoe. "Sure," she said, "but I didn't think they applied to me."
Source: Debra Shore, qtd. in Nick's Humor List
Topics/Tags: Recreation; Nature; Ignorance
Stories from U.S. National Parks...
A woman, appearing rather distraught, came into the visitor center at Redwood National Park in California to report that she had seen several Irish setters lying along the edge of the highway and she feared they were dead or injured. Rangers explained to her that these were pieces of redwood bark that had fallen off logging trucks...
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Darryl Stone, now superintendent at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, remembered working the entrance station at Yosemite when a woman drove up and asked, "Which way are the geysers?" Ranger Stone directed her to continue 1,000 miles further to Yellowstone and told her there were no geysers at Yosemite. "Yes, there are," she said. "I have a friend who saw them." Stone and the woman went round and round several times before she left, insisting that there were geysers at Yosemite. Later she wrote a letter to the chief ranger complaining that Stone had refused to provide her with the information she wanted.
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When an elderly couple stopped to film some bears at Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone, a young bear crawled into their car searching for food. Unable to make the bear leave, the exasperated (but well-dressed) couple drove
about 17 miles to the ranger station at Canyon Village with the bear in the backseat. When the husband got out to report the incident, the bear hopped over into the front seat so that investigating rangers found the woman in the passenger seat and the bear behind the wheel.
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In 1993 a woman called 911 from the top of Half Dome using her cellular phone. According to dispatch, she reported: "Well, I'm at the top and I'm really tired." The answering ranger asked if she felt sick. "No," she said, "I'm just really tired and I want my friends to drive to the base and pick me up."The dispatcher explained that she would have to hike down the trail she had ascended. The visitor replied, "But you don't understand, I'm really tired." What happened next? "It turned out we got really lucky," the ranger said,"her phone battery died."
Source: Debra Shore, qtd. in Nick's Humor List
Topics/Tags: Recreation; Nature
A mother and baby camel are talking one day when the baby camel asks, "Mom why have I got these huge three-toed feet?" The mother replies, "Well son, when we trek across the desert your toes will help you to stay on top of the soft sand". "OK" said the son.
A few minutes later the son asks, "Mom, why have I got these great long eyelashes?" "They are there to keep the sand out of your eyes on the trips through the desert", "Thanks Mom" replies the son.
After a short while, the son returns and asks, "Mom, why have I got these great big humps on my back?" The mother, now a little impatient with the boy replies, "They are there to help us store fat for our long treks across the desert, so we can go without water for long periods."
"That's great mom, so we have huge feet to stop us sinking, and long eyelashes to keep the sand from our eyes and these humps to store water, but Mom ..."
"Yes son?"
"Why are we in the San Diego Zoo?"
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Jesus speaking (John 17:16): "They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world."
Source: "Good Clean Fun" email list
Browse By Topic N Nature