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See also Character
See also Fear of God
Billy Bray
"God's given me Honey but also Vinegar, The Vinegar he has given with a spoon, but the Honey he's given with a ladle."
Derick Bingham
"You will find you have learnt more under the rod that struck you than under the staff that comforts you"
Alan Nelson
"He does not want us to present a sacrifice at the altar; He wants us on the altar."
Verna Wright
In the old Belgium Congo, Zaire, Material is woven using a thorn. God does the same with us. Paul spoke of his "Thorn in the Flesh" in 2 Cor 12:7.
Peter Jackson
"God is never disillusioned with me because he never had any illusions in the first place."
Author Unknown
GRANDMA AND THE CAKE
A little boy was telling Grandma how "everything" was going wrong - school, family problems, severe health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma was baking a cake. She asked her grandson if he would like a snack, which of course he did.
"Here, have some cooking oil."
"Yuck" said the boy.
"How about a couple raw eggs? "
"Gross, Grandma!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Grandma, those are all yucky!"
To which the Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!"
Woodrow Kroll
"The man who carved the faces of the presidents of America into the rock face, was asked how he did it. He said that all he did was blow the rock up with dynamite and the faces appeared, as they were there all the time."
Carrot, Egg, and Coffee
A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction.
In half an hour he walked over to the oven and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her he asked.
"Darling what do you see." Smartly, she replied. "Carrots, eggs, and coffee."
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee. Humbly, she asked. "What does it mean Father."
He explained. "Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of boiling water. However each reacted differently." "The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak." "The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened." "The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer." "Which are you," he asked his daughter.
When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, heat you wilt and become soft with no strength? Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? A fluid spirit. But after a death, a breakup, a divorce, a layoff you became hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart, internally.
Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better. When things are their worst, you get better. When people talk the most, your praises increase. When the hour is the darkest, trials are their greatest, your worship elevates to another level. How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Ref - W Wersbie, God Isn't in a hurry p. 9
"Why has God made me this way?" a suffering saint once bitterly asked her minister. Gently he replied "God has not made you, he is making you"
If the Titanic had collided with another liner as it left Southampton, perhaps the tragedy would have been averted. But the captain skilfully avoided a liner which had drifted free (because of the pressure caused by the Titanics engines). Sometimes God allows troubles and hindrances to save us from bigger tragedies
T Shirt
Front said "Please be patient with me"
Back said "God hasn't finished with me yet"
Steve Peat
While I was working at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, I admitted a little Indian boy with asthma. He was only about three years old and I had to put up a drip. Normally this would be a routine procedure and I didn't think much about it. After three unsuccessful attempts I called my Pakistani registrar, who is quite one of the best doctors I have worked with. I was confident that he would come and make short work of the procedure. After forty-five minutes working together, we had still not got the drip in and had to abandon it. During the whole time the little lad cried and pleaded with us. "No Papi, no. Please, no more." It was pure torture listening to him and seeing his pleading eyes, wide with fear, as he sat on his mother's knee.
A little while later I was standing at the nurses station when he came up to me, put his arms around my leg, looked up at me and said, "Mummy's gone." I was very moved and humbled as I was quite sure he hated me. He certainly had good reason to! I thank God that in the way we handled him, in spite of putting him through a terrifying and painful ordeal, we communicated that we were doing it because we had to for his good and not because we wanted to hurt him. He came to me when his mother left because he could trust me, even after what I had put him through.
Clean Laugh
Several Nuns were in their second floor convent one night when a fire broke
out. The Nuns took their habits off and tied them together to make a rope
to get out of the building via the window.
After they were safely on the ground and out of the building, a news
reporter came over to one of the Nuns and said to her, "Weren't you afraid
that the habits could have ripped or broke since they are old?
The Nun Replied, "No, don't you know old habits are hard to break".
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