The Teacup

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores.
They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups.

This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup.
They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke.
"You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup.
There was a time when I was red and I was clay.

My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and
I yelled out, 'let me alone,' but he only smiled,
'Not yet.'

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said,
"and suddenly I was spun around and around and around.
Stop it! I'm getting dizzy! I screamed.
But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'

"Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat.
I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door.
I could see him through the opening
and I could read his lips as He shook his head, 'Not yet.'

"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool.
'There, that's better,' I said.
And he brushed and painted me all over.
The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag.
'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one.
This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate.
I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried.
All the time I could see him through the opening,
nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'

"Then I knew there wasn't any hope.
I would never make it. I was ready to give up.
But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf.
One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I did.
I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'
"'I want you to remember, then,' he said,
'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted,
but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up.
I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel,
but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.
I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven,
but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.
I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over,
but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened;
you would not have had any color in your life.
And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven,
you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.
Now you are a finished product.
You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"

Emergency Numbers

When in sorrow - - - - call John 14
When men fail you - - - - call Psalm 27
If you want to be fruitful - - - - call John 15
When you have sinned - - - - call Psalm 51
When you worry - - - - call Matthew 5:19-34.
When you are in danger - - - - call Psalm 91.
When God seems far away - - - - call Psalm 139.
When your faith needs stirring - - - - call Hebrews 11.
When you are lonely and fearful - - - - call Psalm 23.
When you grow bitter and critical - - - - call 1 Cor. 13.
For Paul's secret to happiness - - - - call Col. 3:12-17.
For idea of Christianity - - - - call 1 Cor. 5:15-19.
When you feel down and out - - - - call Romans 8:31-39.
When you want peace and rest - - - - call Matt. 11:25-30.
When the world seems bigger than God - - - - call Psalm 90.
When you want Christian assurance - - - - call Romans 8:1-30.
When you leave home for labor or travel - - - - call Psalm 121.
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish - - - - call Psalm 67.
For a great invention/opportunity - - - - call Isaiah 55.
When you want courage for a task - - - - call Joshua 1.
How to get along with fellowmen - - - - call Romans 12.
When you think of investments/returns - - - - call Mark 10.
If you are depressed - - - - call Psalm 27.
If your pocketbook is empty - - - - call Psalm 37.
If your losing confidence in people - - - - call 1 Cor. 13.
If people seem unkind - - - - call John 15.
If discouraged about your work - - - - call Psalm 126.
If you find the world growing small, and yourself great - call Psalm 19.

These Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator assistance is necessary. All lines are open to Heaven 24 hours a day! Feed your faith, and doubt will starve to death!

-- Unknown contributor

Coffee Beans

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 you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean ? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE!

How Much Does a Prayer Weigh?

          There is a story of a grocery store owner who tried to weigh one. A tired-looking woman came into the store and asked for enough food to make a dinner for her children. The grocer asked her how much she could spend. The frail woman answered, "I have nothing to offer but a little prayer."

          The storekeeper was not very sentimental nor religious, so he said, half- mockingly, "Write it on paper, and I'll weigh it." So she did. The grocer placed the prayer on the weight side of his old- fashioned scales. Then he began piling food on the other side; but to his amazement, the scale would not go down. He finally became flustered and gave the woman a large bag of food.

          The grocer never saw the woman again, but he treasures the slip of paper upon which the woman's prayer had been written; "Please, Lord, give us this day our daily bread."
Author Unknown

For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37

 

Disclaimer

Noted and Quoted are simple notes I've taken here and there, others are emails or texts passed on to me over the years.  I will post all sources and references that I have, but please forgive and let me know if you happen to know the origin of items without reference or source.
This is simply a little blog to help me put all my notes and quotes into one place for keeping!