A PRAYER FOR ANIMALS

A PRAYER FOR ANIMALS
(attributed to Albert Schweitzer)

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.


A PRAYER FOR ANIMALS
(attributed to Albert Schweitzer)

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.

From a Full Heart

In this life we experience pain.
It's nothing for what we are to gain.
"His grace sufficient" we are told,
Is sought at God's throne, be bold.
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
The son of man that you care for Him?" Ps 8:4
To sit and learn at God's feet,
Will always be our biggest feat.
To practice faith, hope and love is our part,
When we serve God from a full heart.

To love God and serve Him is our call.
He is faithful and won't let us fall.
God brought us from darkness into the light.
Hope in Him gave us a future so bright.
"O Lord, what is man that you care for him,
The son of man that you think about him?" Ps 144:3
To sit and learn at God's feet,
Will always be our biggest feat.
To practice faith, hope and love is our part,
When we serve God from a full heart.

Marshall Jensen
a Ponder This subscriber
e-mail at m-jensen@allvantage.com


CAT DIARY
..Weekly excerpts from my cat's diary.
Copyright 2003, Mark Mason, all rights reserved

THE TWELVE DAYS of CAT-MAS

On the first day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... A carpeted, cheaply
homemade cat tree. I think it was a feeble attempt by the Big Owner to
get me off his bed where I take up most of his space. Sorry, no go.

On the second day of Catmas my humans gave to me .. Two catnip toys.
They were destroyed within minutes. Next...

On the third day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Three nuggets of
Pounce. Stingy humans. After they went to bed I knocked the can over,
ripped off the lid, and ate the rest.

On the fourth day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Four furry mice.
They were fake. What a disappointment.

On the fifth day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Five small lattice
balls. They made such an irritating noise on the hardwood floor the Big
Owner took them away the next day.

On the sixth day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Six floppy stuffed
Beanie Dalmatians. 95 to go. Big whoop.

On the seventh day of Catmas my human gave to me ... Seven Pet Food
Covers. Hold on here, buckaroo. I eat a whole can of that stuff at one
sitting. Covers suggest I won't be doing that anymore? Over your inert
body.

On the eighth day of Catmas my human gave to me ... Eight Hairball Toys.
Looks just like the real thing.

On the ninth day of Catmas my humans gave to me .. Nine humans dancing.
Trying to not step on the fake hairballs.

On the tenth day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Ten balls of twine.
Old reliable. Boring. I may fashion a noose for the Big Owner out of it.

On the eleventh day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Eleven minutes of
scratching. It's about all the Big Owner can handle before strands of
hair fly up into his nose and make him sneeze all over me.

On the twelfth day of Catmas my humans gave to me ... Twelve human hugs
and kisses. It makes up for all the rest.

Copyright Mark Mason
www.catdiary.com
All Rights Reserved

************

BIG OWNER'S TURN: The Christmas tree is up in our house. And I finally
figure out a way to keep Chance and Sam from climbing it. Well, it
wasn't my idea. The kids put so many ornaments on it they can't get to
it! Of course, the limbs are drooping from the weight. But no cat
climbing this year! So far...

********************************************************************
CAT DIARY BOOKS are here! Hooray! The newest edition includes ALL FOUR
Cat Diary books under one cover! $14.95 plus shipping, that's the lowest
price ever! (280 pages of furball fun!) Get one as a gift, and one for
you! But hurry for the holidays! http://www.catdiary.com
********************************************************************

I'll mention that the shipping for the books will be $3.95 through
Saturday so that they may ship priority and arrive in time for
Christmas! BONUS: Shipping is the same whether you order one or ten
books! So order before Saturday!

Fastest: Order online at http://www.catdiary.com or follow this link:
http://www.ccnow.com/cgi-local/cart.cgi?catdiary_CD1234_
Not as fast but still swift: Use the mail order form below.

The picture page has more Santa Claws pix, and more! Check it out at
www.catdiary.com/pix

WOW! TRUE CAT TALES is loaded with great stories (again). Read this
week's news on your favorite topic (felines):
--> Man calls 9-1-1 insisting police arrest his ‘outlaw’ cat.
--> Cat rescued from drain in Florida.
--> Still looking for lost pet…two years later.
--> Pets get audience with Santa.
--> Cat poop bill scratched.
--> Cat chewing on power cords? Here’s what to do.
..and more! http://www.catdiary.com

CAT E-TALES: (ABOUT LAST WEEK'S TCT) "Hey Mark - Regarding the article
about second-hand smoke causing cancer in pets - well, I believe I'm
proof of that.
My mother, brother, nephew, & a room mate all lived with me over the
course of about 12 years. I finally moved into a 1-bedroom place & told
everyone coming in
that there was no smoking there. Besides the fact that I don't smoke &
still have respiratory problems, I also have a 13-yr old cat with
asthma, whose attacks
are aggravated by cigarette smoke. I also lost 3 cats to cancer since
1997. The first, a 16-yr old, died of liver cancer. Her sister then died
of mouth cancer at 15 the following year. And in 2001, I lost my beloved
9-yr old male Chevy to a stroke after an operation for an intestinal
blockage -- that was later proven to be a very aggressive form of
cancer. So yeah, despite what many smokers may want to believe, second
hand smoke kills not only the humans around them, but their pets as
well." -- Sandy H., Rochester, NY

ABOUT HUNTERS: "Dear Mark, I have two kitties, Shadow age 9 and a 7
month old black one named Rascal. She is my daughters to replace her
first that we lost earlier this year, Midnight at age 16. We have had a
mouse in the house and I was unsuccessful in trapping it. I finally
figured out why. I came downstairs one morning to find my big brave
hunters sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, watching as the
mouse ate their dry food!! They did nothing to discourage it either. I
was finally able to capture him using peanut butter and a plastic
pitcher and let him go in the woods. (I wouldn't let my hubby put in a
mouse trap.) I guess the only things my babies like to catch have to
have wings." -- Ev

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S PROSE: "Dear Chance, Arghhh, such awful catteral--your
owner needs to upgrade your reading--you know, something that will build
character and not detracts us from the fine language of the feline
population. By the way, what exactly is a 'grimalkin?' Like a cat
terrorist? Or a terrorist cat? I remain curiouser and curiouser." --
Peaches

"Absolutely priceless! So many of the variations on this particular
theme are hokey and lacking in imagination, but this one ROCKS!" --
Elizabeth

"That was pretty! I had the same cat for 18 years, and loved him
immensely,
He was the best cat I've ever had, or wanted. Thank you for the laughs,
and the remembering." -- Maggie S.

We'll miss you Christmas and New Year's Eve! Cat Diary returns January
7th.
Happy Holidays!

Mark Mason
Cat Diary

Cat Diary is published weekly by Cat Diary, #201, 16200 SW Pacific Hwy,
Suite H, Portland, Oregon, 97224
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Copyright 2003 by Mark Mason, All Rights Reserved. ALL broadcast,
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storage, in any medium, online or not, is STRICTLY PROHIBITED without
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