Good Morning Campers,

Last Saturday’s issue is just a few hours old and I’ve started this week’s issue. That’s because this is the Easter issue.

For most of us, the Easter holiday is a celebration of Jesus Christ’s rise from the dead after being crucified on Good Friday (the day I happen to be writing this passage).  It is the recognition of a sacrifice and a promise. Now, I’m going to get a little preachy here, but bear with me, it won’t be that bad.

Nature, in the persona of God our Heavenly Father, requires that in order for us to be welcomed into the afterlife, Paradise, we must be sin free.  The problem is, that as Earthly Children, we are not, and can not be sin free.  All of us sin against God in one form or another. 

As a result of our sins, a punishment or accounting must take place.

Sadly, there is not enough we can do on our own to compensate God for our sins. 

A story is told of a soldier during the Civil War who had several brothers, all of which were killed in one battle or another.  This soldier was the last surviving son in his family.

One night, this soldier had guard duty and fell asleep, which allowed the enemy to enter the camp and kill many of the other soldiers who were there asleep.  This soldier fell asleep while on duty, the penalty, since it cost so many of his brothers in arms death, was to be put to death himself.

His mother approached then President Lincoln and beseeched him to not kill her last son.  She said that she knew he was wrong and deserved the punishment that was to be meted out.  She pointed out that he was indeed sorry for his crimes and was willing to face his punishment that he knew he deserved.

But, she begged Lincoln and told him, that it would not be for him to be forgiven but for her.  Not for him but for her, his mother, for her last surviving son.  She had already lost so much, sacrificed so much, losing all her other sons that she just couldn’t bear to lost the last one, so not for his sake, but for hers, for her sacrifice could President Lincoln please find it in his heart to forgive him.

Jesus Christ did basically the same thing for us.  He told his father that he would assume the responsibility for all of humanities sins, past, present and future and he would take the penalty for all of it.  He would suffer through the retribution required for all of us.  And he told his Father, not for their sake, but for mine.  For the payment I will make in their name, they deserve forgiveness.

So, it is only because of Jesus’s supreme sacrifice and our accepting of His sacrifice and the welcoming of Him into our hearts and our striving to the best of our abilities to being worthy of His sacrifice that we have a pathway to Heaven, to Paradise.

By His Resurrection on Easter Morning, we are assured that his pain and suffering has paved the path for us to follow.  That by his rising we are assured that we, too, have the opportunity to also rise.

Tomorrow, when we are celebrating Easter Sunday, we are truly saying thank you for Jesus’s accepted sacrifice in our name.

Preaching over.  That wasn’t so bad, now was it?

Now, it is here that I would normally say something to the affect of that this is my opinion, but I can’t really do that.  Because it’s not my opinion.  It is my faith based knowledge that this is indeed true and that Jesus did indeed endure the incredible suffering for the forgiveness of my sins.  And it will be not for MY sake but for HIS sake that I have the opportunity for eternal happiness in Paradise.

So, let’s move on to the fun stuff of both Easter and the normal Dragon Laffs issue.  But, before we get to the fun stuff, here is a submission, given to me by our own Lethal Leprechaun.

This is not the Hallelujah that you may be used to, it’s a special edition for Easter by Kelley Mooney and it is glorious!

 

Okay, we might as well jump right into it this morning.  The following is a mini-rant sent to me by Jeannie aka Gracie.
125 years ago, you didn’t have to asks permission from the government to:
–Go fishing, collect rain water, use a transportation vehicle, build a home or renovate it.
–You didn’t have to pay tax upon tax upon tax with already taxed money.
–You didn’t have to ask permission and pay to be married, obtain licenses, certifications or permits to hunt, own a weapon become a carpenter or any trade or profession.
–You didn’t have to ask permission to protest or redress the government, or sell a product.
–You also didn’t have to ask to have your income illegally taxed by the 16th Amendment (which was NEVER ratified!)
You can virtually do NOTHING without being extorted by government and obtaining their permission first.  If you still think you’re FREE, you’re deluding yourself.  You live in a very large open air prison as free range humans, thoroughly manipulated and controlled by the illusion of a free society.
There is an awful lot of truth in this rant.  We didn’t give up our freedoms overnight, they were taken from us “for the greater good” a little at a time.  Like putting a live lobster in a pan of cold water, it doesn’t really it’s getting boiled alive because the temperature goes up slowly, a little at a time, but the end result is still the same.

I know five people who are clinically insane…and I’m two of them.

 

I like to give a little warning before you get to these sorts of things…

 

 

Not normally a topic I would put to music, but hey, to each their own.

 

You know how I like to exhort you all to Live, Love and Laugh, well Ginny’s minions say that if that doesn’t work then try Load, Aim and Fire.
I can get behind that too.

Yeah, well, you try finding a fantasy picture with an Easter theme!

Well, it’s no wonder they are they way they are.  And we thought ours was special.  Well, he is quite special and we already know that many other, more junior leprechauns look up to him and try to emulate him, but this cartoon does answer an awful lot of questions.

And we’ve been using it and abusing it for a long time around here.  It’s a requirement for the job.  It’s on the application!

And let’s throw a couple more Easter Dragons in here…

Nothing says Easter more than a dragon dressed up in a bunny suit.

And these next two go so delightfully with each other….

Distraction or old age?  Yes.

After all the rumors of Paul’s death, and the clues on Several Beatles albums, most especially “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” could it have all been true?  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you are too young.  If you DO understand, then read this article about a recent interview with Ringo Starr.  http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/former-beatle-ringo-starr-claims-the-real-paul-mccartney-died-in-1966-and-was-replaced-by-look-alike/

A police recruit was asked during the exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?”

He answered, “Call for backup.”

Of course they are Easter Themed

Okay, so that last one was more of a Groaner than a funny, but it’s still good.

So, this ezine is beginning to bog down and I think it’s because it’s so damn big.  So, I’m going to try and wrap this up soon.  Let’s try a couple of more things and go into our Last Word.

Just had a great idea!  I’m going to start meetings at my lair for people who have OCD. I don’t have it myself, I’m just hoping that they’ll take one look around and start cleaning.

I’m having so many problems in my life right now, that if a new one comes along today, it will be at least two weeks before I’ll be able to worry about it.

And I don’t know what can be better for the Last Word before Easter, but a really nice feel good story.

Viral photo captures coffee stand employees praying with grieving widow

By Jessica Ivins   |  Posted Mar 24th, 2016 @ 11:16am

VANCOUVER, Wash. — A grieving woman went out for a cup of coffee over the weekend but ended up with so much more.

Evan Freeman was working the window at the Dutch Bros. drive-thru Saturday when he noticed that the woman placing her order was struggling to fight back tears, according to KPTV News. When Freeman asked her if she was OK, she fell apart — explaining that her 37-year-old husband had passed away the night before.

“As soon as she said that, I was like, ‘There’s nothing more you need to say. We got this,’” Freeman said. “We’re going to do what we do every time we get someone who’s in pain or hurt. We’re going to give them our love.”

Freeman offered the woman a free cup of coffee, then gathered several of his coworkers and reached out for her hand as the group prayed together, Seattle’s Q13 News reports.

Barbara Danner — who happened to be behind the woman in line — snapped a photo of the moving encounter and posted it to the Dutch Bros. Facebook page. It’s since been shared more than 115,000 times.

“When the (Dutch Bros) guys and gals noticed she was falling apart, they stopped everything and prayed with her for several minutes, invited her to come back for prayer and support as well as anything else that she might need,” Danner wrote in her post.

Freeman’s boss, Jessica Chudek, noticed the photo on social media and was shocked when she realized her employees were responsible for the act of kindness.

“It just brought me to tears right then,” she told KPTV.

Pierce Dunn, Freeman’s co-worker, said he wasn’t expecting their experience to be shared by so many people. He told KPTV he hopes it will inspire others to look for opportunities to help where they can.

“If every single person did an act of kindness or just had a smile on their face, the world would be a completely different place,” he said.

And with that I’ll be wishing all of you’re a very Happy and safe Easter.