The goat is filthy

Psalm 34:1 (ESV)

I will bless the Lord at all times;

    His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"

The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week."

A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."

The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week."

A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat -- only the nine of us."

This is a funny story but how many of us know how to be truly thankful in the face of trial? Many powerhouses of the faith who preceded us realized the importance of mastering thankfulness. How much more should we who have so much more than they!

We have an opportunity each day to practice being thankful! If we’re struggling today, let’s practice praising God in thankfulness for all the good things He's done! He deserves all of our praise regardless of our circumstance!

Dear Lord, help us be thankful no matter the situation we find ourselves. Thank You for the strength that You give us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

We Need to Learn From Our Mistakes

Two guys are walking through the woods and come across this big deep hole.



"Wow...that looks deep."


"Sure does... toss a few pebbles in there and see how deep it is."


They pick up a few pebbles and throw them in and wait... no noise.


"Whoa. That is REALLY deep... here.. throw one of these great big rocks down there. Those should make a noise."


They pick up a couple football-sized rocks and toss them into the hole and wait... and wait. Nothing.


They look at each other in amazement. One gets a determined look on his face and says, "Hey...over here in the weeds, there's a railroad tie. Help me carry it over here. When we toss THAT thing in, it's GOTTA make some noise."


The two drag the heavy tie over to the hole and heave it in. Not a sound comes from the hole.


Suddenly, out of the nearby woods, a goat appears, running like the wind. It rushes toward the two men, then right past them, running as fast as it's legs will carry it. Suddenly it leaps in the air and into the hole.


The two men are astonished with what they've just seen...


Then, out of the woods comes a farmer who spots the men and ambles over. "Hey... you two guys seen my goat out here?"


"You bet we did! Craziest thing I ever seen. It came running like crazy and just jumped into this hole!"


"Nah", says the farmer, "That couldn't have been MY goat. My goat was chained to a railroad tie."






Even when we get discouraged from the mistakes we make we can know that God is always there with us.






Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”


- Joshua 1:9 (New International Version)






Dear Lord we pray that we won’t get discouraged when we make a mistake. We pray that we will learn from our mistakes and become a better person because of it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.