Reflections

A carrot , an egg and a cup of coffee ... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mot...

-- By Karl Haffner, College Place, WA Source: Gleaner, -from "Weekend Encounter" (c) Copyright by ACTS International, 2003 Dr. Frederic Loomis faced the most difficult decision a physician could ever make--whether to allow a deformed baby to live or die. He had only seconds to decide. Dr. Loomis had delivered hundreds of babies, but this one was different. The infant lay in a breech position, promising at best a difficult and dangerous birth. One of its feet stretched only to the knee of the other leg. Furthermore, it was missing a thigh. The mother, a frail person visiting the sterile delivery room for her first time, was not aware of the grossly deformed child struggling to survive. Dr. Loomis closed his eyes; at his fingertips squirmed a pitiful creature yet unborn. Would not the most loving thing be to detain the birth long enough to cause the child to be stillborn? He agonized within himself. Will this kid not be considered a freak, a twisted burden to its delicate...

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.- Scott Adams

Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it’s harvest time.- Yiddish saying

A woman was explaining her theory of putting her children to bed: "I never tell bedtime stories that begin with 'Once upon a time,'" she said. "If I really want to put them to sleep, I start off with, 'Now, when I was your age...'" It's nice to understand people so well that we know just what to say! Here is a mother who could speak her children's language. The story is told of the most famous elephant in the world -- a huge, beautiful and gentle beast named Bozo. Children extended open palms filled with peanuts for the Indian elephant, who gently plucked them from little hands and seemed to smile as he ate his treats. But one day, for some inexplicable reason, Bozo changed. He almost stampeded the man who cleaned his cage. He charged children at the circus and became incorrigible. His owner knew he would have to destroy the once-gentle giant. In order to raise money for a new elephant, the circus owner held a cruel exhibition. He s...

Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same. Some people come into our lives and quickly go... Some stay for awhile and embrace our silent dreams. They help us become aware of the delicate winds of hope...and we discover within every human spirit there are wings yearning to fly. They help our hearts to see that the only stairway to the stars is woven with dreams... and we find ourselves unafraid to reach high. They celebrate the true essence of who we are...and have faith in all that we may become. Some people awaken us to new and deeper realizations... for we gain insight from the passing whisper of their wisdom. Throughout our lives we are sent precious souls...meant to share our journey however brief or lasting their stay they remind us why we are here. To learn... to teach... to nurture... to love. Some people come into our lives to cast a steady light upon our path and guide our every step their shining belief in us help...

A real friend never gets in your way - unless you happen to be on the way down.- Dr. Wayne Dyer

At first it sounded like a Thanksgiving story, but the more I reflected on it, the more appropriate it seemed for any time of the year. The way I heard it, the story went like this: Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment -- to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful. Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student's art. And they were. But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes. Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was th...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds. "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. 1. When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toe nails anymore. So my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca - age 8 2. When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouths.Billy - age 4 3. Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving Cologne and they go out and smell each other. Kari - age 5 4. Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy - age 6 5. Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. Terri - age 4 6. Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to mak...

Jesus: Fulfiller Of The Law During Old Testament times, many Jews perceived the Law as a means of gaining salvation. Although a large number of Jews admired Jesus' wisdom, and were in awe of the miracles he accomplished, Christ's admittance of his divinity, as well as what some people perceived was his desire to do away with the Old Testament Law caused much stirring, especially amongst temple heads. ("Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." -John 12:37 (Also see John 10:25-26, John 10:37-38, John 8:42-43) At one point, Jesus was accused of being inspired by Satan, but, does Satan preach of love, heal the sick, make the blind to see, and raise the dead to life? Surely not as the adversary's purpose is to not do God's will, but to fight against it. In the Bible, the Old Testament Law is referred to as our "schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:23-25), to teach earliest mankind, and to ...

On God's anvil. Perhaps you've been there. Melted down. Formless. Undone. Placed on the anvil for ... reshaping? I know. I've been on it. It's rough. It's a spiritual slump, a famine. The fire goes out. Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears. We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing. Passion? It slips out the door. Enthusiasm? Are you kidding? Anvil time. It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless. The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens. "All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I'm still hurting, wondering..." On the anvil. Brought face-to-face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go. Jesus in the garden. Peter with a tear-streaked face. David after Bathsheba. Elijah and the ...

WANTED – PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY Greg Laurie It was D. L. Moody who said, "Character is what you are in the dark." When there is no one to impress, that's when true character, or integrity, is revealed. Humorist Will Rogers understood the meaning of integrity when he said, "So live that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip." How much influence can a person of integrity really have on others? If we look at the example of Moses, we discover that a little character can go a long way. As long as Moses was around, his influence was so profound and significant that it kept people from doing the wrong thing. After Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt and God miraculously saved them from Pharaoh's armies at the Red Sea, He began to lead them in a very clear and obvious way. During the day, He provided a cloud. When the cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud stopped, they stopped. At night, a pillar of fire led them in the same way....

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A...

He didn't like my pudding And he didn't like my cake My biscuits were too hard Not like his mother used to bake I didn't perk the coffee And I didn't make the stew I didn't mend his socks Like his mother used to do As I pondered for an answer I was looking for a clue So, I turned around and boxed his ears Like his Mother used to do.

According to Buddhist folklore, two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed. As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!" "Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her." A Question of Wisdom —The insight of the second monk raises an interesting question for followers of Christ. If we acknowledge examples of moral and spiritual insight in another religion, do we weaken our case for the distinctiveness of our own faith? I as...

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

The highest scoring word in the English language game of Scrabble is 'Quartzy'. This will score 164 points if played across a red triple-word square with the Z on a light blue double-letter square. It will score 162 points if played across two pink double-word squares with the Q and the Y on those squares. 'Bezique' and 'Cazique' are next with a possible 161 points. All three words score an extra 50 points for having seven letters and therefore emptying the letter rack in one go.

An old man, probably some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the park bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was ok. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was ok. He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, he said in a clear strong voice. I didn't mean to disturb you, sir, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were ok Iexplained to him. Have you ever looked at your hands he asked. I mean really looked at your hands? I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I hadnever really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making. Then he smiled and related this story: Stop and think for a moment abo...

This morning was foggy and I could not drive as usual. I was taking my children to school and the traffic jam gave me a lot of time to ponder. Suddenly, I came to think of us humans, what are we doing out here? What are we busy with? Is everything worth it? Then I thought of myself, what do I expect from life? Then I began coming to conclusions such as, every one of us dies one day. What happens then is most important. Am I preparing for this? All that I gain in this life will be left behind and only the invisible stuff will go with me. That made me think seriously about what it is that will go with me...... It seemed as if God was also with me in these thoughts, because, as I went about my day and opened the web site I usually read, I found a similar message...... http://www.mountainoffire.org/need_for_revival.htm

The subject of the Sunday sermon was "Forgive Your Enemies." After a lengthy sermon, the preacher asked the congregation how many were willing to forgive their enemies. About half held up their hands. Not satisfied, he pleaded with the congregation for another twenty minutes and repeated his question. This received a response of eighty percent. Still unsatisfied, he lectured for fifteen more minutes and repeated his question. With thoughts of Sunday dinner being delayed, all responded except one old gentleman in the rear. "Mr. Jones, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?" "I don't have any." "Mr. Jones, that is very unusual. How old are you?" "86." "Mr. Jones, please tell the congregation how a man can live to be 86 and not have an enemy in the world." The old man stood and said, "It's easy. I just outlived them."