Do you believe in miracles? If not, could it be that they are out there but you just don't recognize them?  An illustration of that mindset can be seen in the situation with Bob, who was in his boat with his dog out on the water one day when a flock of geese flew overhead.

Since the season was right for it, Bob picked up his rifle, aimed and fired, and one of the geese fell into the water several yards away from the boat. Bob said to his dog, "Go get him, boy," and his dog jumped into the water. But this time, unlike anything he had ever done before, the dog didn't swim across the water.   Instead, he WALKED across the water to the goose, picked it up, and walked back across the water to the boat. Bob was astounded!  he had no idea that his dog could do anything as fabulous as that. Then, his first thought was about his friend, Jim, who maintained that his dog was by far the finest dog in the world in every way.  Bob decided he was now going to prove Jim wrong.

That evening, he called his friend and said, "Jim, how about going out on the water with me tomorrow and let's see it we can shoot a goose or two." Jim said that was fine with him and that he would bring his dog along. Bob told him that no, his (Bob's) dog was all they needed. Jim thought that was a bit incredulous, but he agreed to it. The next day they got out on the water and soon a flock of geese flew overhead. Bob shot one of the geese and it fell into the water several yards away from the boat. Bob said to his dog, "Go get him, boy," and his dog, as he had done the day before, jumped into the water and proceeded to walk toward the goose.

He picked up the goose and walked on the water back to the boat. Bob saw that his friend was watching all of this, but he didn't say anything. Bob didn't want to be the one to exclaim, "How about my dog? Isn't he the greatest in the world?" He wanted to get that reaction from his friend, but Jim said nothing. Finally, when they were almost back to shore, Bob couldn't hold back any longer, and he said to Jim, "Didn't you notice something unusual about my dog out there  a little while ago?" Jim replied, "Yeah, I noticed he couldn't swim!"

Folks, let's look at the wondrousness of life, which is all around us. Let's get our eyes off the mundane and marvel at the miracles, and let's do that today! Before closing, let's take a rather humorous, but somewhat factual, stab at defining the various economies of the world.

SOCIALISM:  You have two cows, and the government takes one of your cows and gives it to your neighbor; COMMUNISM: You have two cows, the State takes both and gives you some milk; FASCISM:  You have two cows, the State takes both of them and sells you some milk;  BUREAUCRATISM: You have two cows, the State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away; TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies and the economy grows. You sell the herd and retire on the income.

Now, a little humor which points out that things are not always what they seem. There's this frog who has an unusual desire. He falls in love with human girls.  Of course, no girl will touch him.  Desperate, he goes to a physic. The physic tells him, "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl who will want to know everything about you."  The frog becomes excited, and says, "This is great! Will I meet her at a party?"  "No," says the physic, "In her biology class!"  Have a great day!