When Your Hut's On Fire (unknown)
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited Island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief and anger as he cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?"
Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't > lose heart, because God is at work in our lives.... even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.



P. S. You may want to consider passing this on, because you never know who feels as if their hut is on fire today.

My praying friends, I call upon you to intensify your prayers and trust in God. There are so many disasters in the news right now; the mining tragedy in Utah, the hurricane creating a path of destruction and the devastating earthquake in Peru. My family and I have made several mission trips to Peru and we have many, many friends there. We have heard concerning the welfare of most of them. However, the remote village of Ica, which was hardest hit, is struggling. Not much in the way of reports is getting to us. There are friends in route their right now. I ask for your prayers for all the people affected by all the tragedies I’ve mentioned. Philippians 4:6,7 states, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Many who are reading this right now are experiencing their own "burning huts". Take time to encourage and build up those who are struggling today. Lift them up to our loving Heavenly Father. ~Mike

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Good morning all and good Friday! A colleague shares this "goat" story with us today. Have a beautiful day and protect your "goat", not allowing anyone to get it.

MikeBumbalough



IS YOUR GOAT GOTTEN?
Neal Pollard

There was a brief, AP report in the morning paper about a goat. It wasn’t your run-of-the-mill goat, though. Since the 1960s, Gavle, Sweden, has erected a “43-foot-high straw Christmas goat.” Apparently, it is an ancient national symbol of something. Nearly simultaneous to this tradition has been the tradition of burning down the goat. In 1976, a car ran into the goat. In 1971, school children built a miniature replica that was smashed to pieces (12/4/05, BBC News report). Every year since the goat’s gone up, it’s also gone up in flames.



This year, officials “doused the goat with flame-resistant chemicals.” That hasn’t worked in the past, but hopes are high. They are trying to keep arsons from getting their goat!

How about you? Are there issues or even certain people that have a way of getting your goat? Is there somebody or something that just pushes your buttons? What are you doing to try to counteract that?

Protecting yourself from these inflaming irritants is vital to spiritual growth and maturity. Don’t allow someone to enslave you to them by letting your anger cross the line (cf. Eph. 4:26; Rom. 6:16). Work on being more patient, of being bigger than that. Who knows who may be watching how you handle the tedium, pressures, and aggravations of life. By handling it well, you can be a great example of Christ-likeness.

Do whatever you have to do to “your goat.” Just don’t be easy prey to those trying to get it.

From the NIV, here's the verse of the day:

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,”- Psalm 95:6-7


Blessings are wished for you today!

Mike

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]

September 11, in two thousand and one,

Is the day the terrible deeds were done.

Lives were ended as people were killed;

Families were shattered as blood was spilled.

The towers crumbled with a horrific roar

As death descended floor by floor.

To many trapped there, any hope was vain;

Screams of agony mixed with cries of pain.

Twin towers stood tall as New York’s crown:

In just moments, they both crashed down.

The rubble crushed everything below

As dust and smoke clouded like snow.

Alarms and sirens blared through the streets;

Emergency vehicles arrived in fleets.

Help quickly came from every direction –

Police, firemen, EMT – every connection.

Ambulances shuttled to and fro

As workers searched at Ground Zero.

Victims and bodies lay side by side,

Awaiting their turn on a terrible ride.

Survivors stumbled out of the rubble,

Unaware of the cause of the trouble.

Shaken, confused, injured and sore;

Ashes covering the clothes they wore.

They staggered around in utter confusion,

Wondering if this was all a delusion.

Worrying now about co-worker and friend,

Not knowing if each had come to their end.

But in the midst of all this, heroes arrived,

Intent on keeping each victim alive.

Firemen search as they fight the fires,

Replacing each other as each one tires.

In giving to others, they gave themselves,

When the buildings collapsed like falling shelves.

NYPD, NYFD, EMT – working together.

Many died in the crush as brother with brother.

And now we grieve as an injured nation.

Candles burn in each police and fire station.

Families are living in terrible sorrow,

Knowing members will not be there tomorrow.

Thousands of funerals fill the days;

Memorials are planned in many ways.

Hospital beds with the victims are filled;

Some become a part of the Number Killed.

But we still have hope as all of us suffer –

We will not fall! We will grow tougher!

We stand united, remembering the day

When our enemies attacked the U.S.A.!

Smoke, ashes, and tears darkened our sun

On September 11, in two thousand and one.


WHERE WERE YOU AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING

WHEN THE TRAGEDIES HAPPENED IN NEW YORK,

PENNSYLVANIA, AND WASHINGTON, D.C.?

Please visit the Guest Book for National Book of Remembrance.
http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=GB000000091815
Click on the above link or cut and paste the url into your browser's address bar.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28, KJV)

Remembering, praying and trusting a truly awesome God.

Mike

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Good Morning Sharon,

Thanks for Featuring Mike,Hes already on my friends list,

Wow Mike Great story and history.

Your very special.

Kathy Hamilton

GETTING WHAT WE ASK FOR by Alan Smith

A man asked his wife, "What would you most like for your birthday?"

She said, "I'd love to be ten again."

On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a theme park. He put her on every ride in the park -- the Death Slide, The Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear. Everything there was, she rode. She staggered out of the theme park five hours later, her head reeling and her stomach upside down.

Into McDonalds they went, where she was given a Double Big Mac with extra fries and a strawberry shake. Then off to a theater to see Star Wars -- more burgers, popcorn, cola and sweets. At last she staggered home with her husband and collapsed into bed.

Her husband leaned over and asked, "Well, dear, what was it like being ten again?"

One eye opened and she groaned, "Actually, I meant dress size."

That story reminds me of what happened to James and John. They came to Jesus with a request.
Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" (Mark 10:36).

"They said to Him, 'Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.'" (Mark 10:37)

Jesus told them they really didn't know what they were asking for. He asked them, "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Mark 10:38

Their response? "Of course!" However, what they had in mind (prestige, power and glory) wasn't the same thing Jesus had in mind (persecution, suffering and servanthood). Jesus gave them exactly what they asked for, but it wasn't at all what they were hoping for when they made the request!

So often, the same thing happens in my life. God has a way of answering my requests, my prayers, in ways I never even dreamed of -- not always in a pleasant way, not always in a way I would have chosen, but always in a way that He sees best.

Have a great day!
Mike

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