J is for Jim the Wonder Dog

In 1925, Jim was born in Louisiana and purchased by Sam Van Arsdale. He was a Llewellin Setter, which is a strain of English setter that was bred to hunt upland game birds. The dogs are not naturally aggressive and are very smart. 

At a young age, Jim quickly made his mark as a great hunt dog. He was so good that Outdoor Life Magazine termed him “The Hunting Dog of the Country.” However, Jim became world famous after it was determined that he could perform some amazing acts on command.

When told to do so, Jim could go out into the street and locate a car by make, color, and license number. Among a crowd of people, Jim was able to identify the “man who sells hardware,” the “man that takes care of sick people,” and the “visitor from Kansas City.” He could understand instructions in any foreign language, shorthand, or Morse code. Jim also displayed psychic ability. If asked, he could guess the sex of an unborn baby. He picked the winner of the Kentucky Derby seven years in a row and also predicted the Yankee victory in the 1936 World Series.

After Jim was featured in the newspapers, his psychic ability was studied by psychologists from different universities. Dr. A. J. Durant, director of the School of Veterinary Medicine, tested his ability in a public demonstration and concluded that Jim “possessed an occult power that might never come again to a dog in many generations.” Journalists from all over the world came to witness Jim’s show and were stunned. His fame spread across the United States and he was featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Jim died on March 18, 1937 and is buried in Marshall’s Ridge Park Cemetery in Missouri.

I is for Itsy

The Itsy Bitsy Spider is an American animated fantasy-comedy television series in the Itsy Bitsy Spider franchise produced by Hyperion Animation. It was broadcast on the USA Network's USA Cartoon Express. 

The series revolves around a little girl named Leslie McGroarty who is befriended by a spider named Itsy. The title character's voice was done by Frank Welker.

Itsy is a harmless spider. He is Leslie's best friend. He is the deuteragonist (second most important) of the series. Itsy Bitsy is also the main protagonist of the short film.

H is for Hanno

Hanno was the name of the pet white elephant given by King

Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X (born Giovanni de' Medici) at his coronation.

Hanno, actually an Asian elephant, which had been brought to Rome in 1514 with the Portuguese ambassador Tristão da Cunha. Hanno quickly became the Pope's favorite animal.

Hanno died two years later from complications of a treatment for constipation with gold-enriched laxative

G is for Gordo

Gordo was one of the first monkeys to travel into space. As part of the NASA space program, Gordo, also known as "Old Reliable", was launched from Cape Canaveral on December 13, 1958 in the U.S. PGM-19 Jupiter rocket on its AM-13 mission.

The rocket would travel over 1500 miles and reach a height of 310 miles (500 km) before returning to Earth and landing in the South Atlantic. A technical malfunction prevented the capsule's parachute from opening and, despite a short search, neither his body nor the vessel were ever recovered.

Gordo was a South American species of squirrel monkey, about one foot tall and weighing between 1 and 1.5 kg. He was chosen for space travel because of his species' similar anatomical makeup to man and sensitivity to changes in temperature.

F is for Faith the Cat

Faith, was a London cat that lived in St Faith & St Augustine's church (by St Paul's Cathedral) during the war. Faith received a PDSA Silver Medal for bravery in caring for her kitten when the church was bombed. Her citation read:

"Faith"

Our dear little church cat of St. Augustine 

and St. Faith. The bravest cat in the world.

On Monday, September 9th, 1940, she endured horrors and perils beyond the power of words to tell.

Shielding her kitten in a sort of recess in the house (a spot she selected three days before the tragedy occurred), shes at the whole frightful night of bombing and fire, guarding her little kitten.

The roofs and masonry exploded. The whole house blazed. Four floors fell through in front of her. Fire and water and ruin all round her.

Yet she stayed calm and steadfast and waited for help.

We rescued her in the early morning while the place was still burning, and

By the mercy of Almighty God, she and her kitten were not only saved, but unhurt.

God be praised and thanked for His goodness and mercy to our dear little pet.

Are You Thirsty? (Part 2)

SERMON                  GMT14-011

SETTING:                 North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:                 Sunday AM

SUBTITLE:              Are You Thirsty? (Part 2)

SCRIPTURE:           Psalm 63

SUBJ:                         Confident expectation

SUMMARY:             The love of God compels genuine believers to develop confidence in God through a passionate thirst for God.

SCHEME:                 That genuine believers resolve to quench their thirst in God

         

2A       God is David’s Delight          (Vss. 5-8)

            1B       The Provision of God           (5)

                        1C       Is spiritual      (5a)

                        2C       Is succulent    (5a)

                        3C       Is substantial  (5a)

            2B       The Pondering of God          (6)

                        1C       The Statement           (6a)

                        2C       The Subject                (6b)

                        3C       The Season                 (6c)

            3B       The Protection of God          (7)

                        1C       Is well founded          (7a)

                        2C       Is well furnished        (7b)

                        3C       Is well favored           (7b)

            4B       The Preservation by God     (8)

                        1C       Secured                      (8a)

                        2C       Supported                  (8b) 

Are you Thirsty? (Part 2)

Psalm 63:5-8

INTRODUCTION

A.    Charles Spurgeon wrote in regards to delighting in Christ… 

"It is joy to all nations that Christ is born, the Prince of Peace, the King who rules in righteousness...Beloved, the greatest joy is to those who know Christ as a Savior...

The further you submit yourself to Christ the Lord, the more completely you know Him, the fuller will your happiness become. Surface joy is to those who live where the Savior is preached; but the great deeps, the great fathomless deeps of solemn joy which glisten and sparkle with delight, are for such as know the Savior, obey the Anointed One, and have communion with the Lord Himself...you will never know the fullness of the joy which Jesus brings to the soul, unless under the power of the Holy Spirit you take the Lord your Master to be your All in all, and make Him the fountain of your intense delight."

B.   Delight is an extremely sought after yet elusive internal experience. Delight is a strong feeling of happiness, it a sensation of great pleasure or satisfaction. Delight is something that makes you very happy and or content.

C.   This world is filled with people who are searching for this experience. People spend the best part and the better part of their lives pursuing the feeling of delight in a number of ways and means. Many people sadly come to the end of their life without ever finding something or someone that they have truly delighted in.

E is for Eddie Eagle

Eddie Eagle is the mascot for a program developed by the

NRA (National Rifle Association) to teach children who are usually considered to young to be allowed to handle firearms. The program is designed for children of any age from pre-school through the third grade.

The program is built around an easily remembered litany to teach the kids how to avoid being hurt when they come in contact with a weapon:

• Stop - take time and remember what to do

• Don't Touch - if you don't touch a firearm you won't be hurt

• Leave the area - when you leave you stop all temptation to pick up the weapon and play with it

• Tell an adult - a grown up will know what to do and will keep you from getting hurt