the lesson of the coffee bean......

THE LESSON OF THE COFFEE BEAN

A daughter complained to her father about how hard things were for her."As
soon as I solve one problem," she said, "another one comes up. I'm tired of
struggling."

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen where he filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one
he placed carrots, in the second, eggs, and in the last, ground coffee
beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After a while,
he went over and turned off the burners. He fished out the carrots and
placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. He
poured the coffee into a bowl. Turning to her he asked, "Darling, what do
you see?"

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

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. She smiled, as she tasted its rich flavor.

She asked, "What does it mean, Father?" He explained that each of them had
faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but after being subjected
to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

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

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. By being in the boiling water,
they changed the water.

He asked his daughter, "When adversity knocks on your door, which are you?"

-- Author Unknown

SCRIPTURE:
John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance; [4] perseverance, character; and character,
hope. [5] And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his
love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 8:31-39
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be
against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us
all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
[33] Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God
who justifies. [34] Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more
than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also
interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or
sword? [36] As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered."

[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. [38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39]
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
[3] because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
[4] Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything.

1 Peter 4:1
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the
same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

true wisdom

true wisdom comes in many packages indeed.
Sometimes out of the mouths of babes, and sometimes from
those of advanced years as well. After all GOD works through
many different people.

So today we will take a humorous look at what could be called
"Backyard Philosophy," or even "Nutshell Philosophy." I hope
you will enjoy this as much as I do, so let us begin!

1. Be Fishers of Men.... You catch 'em, He'll Clean 'em.

2. A family altar can alter a family.

3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4. Don't put a question mark where God put a full stop.

5. Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

6. Exercise daily... Walk with the Lord!

7. Forbidden fruits create many jams.

8. Give God what's right, not what's left!

9. Give satan an inch and he'll be a ruler.

10. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

11. God grades on the cross, not the curve.

12. God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit"
over "religious nuts"!

13. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

14. Having truth decay? Brush up on your Bible!

15. He who angers you, controls you!

16. He who is good at making excuses, is seldom good for
anything else.

17. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!

18. Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming
back.

19. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory
capacity.

20. Never give the devil a ride! He will always want to drive!

21. Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.

22. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

23. "Pray" is a four-letter word that you can say anywhere.

24. Prayer - Don't give God instructions - just report for duty!

25. The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God
will not protect you.

26. This Church is "Prayer Conditioned"!

27. To be almost saved is to be totally lost.

28. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning!

29. Watch your step carefully! Everyone else does!

30. We don't change the message, the message changes us.

31. Wisdom has two parts: 1) Having a lot to say. 2) Not saying it.

32. Worry is the darkroom in which "negatives" are developed

33. The work will wait while you look at the rainbow, but the
rainbow won't wait while you do the work.

Now, I hope that you have enjoyed this message.
Have a great weekend, and remember that God answers all Knee
Mail!

the seed

Subject: The Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to
choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided
to do something different. He called all the young executives in his
company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I
have decided to choose one of you. "The young executives were Shocked,
but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED
today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it,
and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from
the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you
bring, and the one
I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others,
received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story.
She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.
Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After
about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about
their seeds
and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants,
but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing
Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however, he just kept watering and
fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company
brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But she asked him to be honest about what happened.
Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing
moment of his life,
but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.

When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the
other executives. They were beautiful - in all shapes and sizes. Jim
put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a
few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and
flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be
appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his
empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the
front. Jim was terrified.. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure!
Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed,
Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and
then announced to the young executives, "This is your next Chief
Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.

"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed.
I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible
for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another
seed for the one I gave you.
Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot
with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

--unknown

taking aim

TAKING AIM

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. She says Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons.

One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture.

Sally's girlfriend drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased a the overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts, with much laughter and hilarity. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats.

As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her target, Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus...

A complete hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smith said these words, "In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." No other words were necessary; the tear-filled eyes of each student focused only on the picture of Christ.

"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Matthew 25:40

-- Author Unknown

summer

The beautiful colors of Summer will soon be upon us. A time
of fun in the sun, vacation, and lazy days. Another time to praise
God for His Creation.

Indeed a time to enjoy all of God's Wonderful Creation, for soon
Summertime beauty will surround us. So, as David said; I will praise
You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of
all Your marvelous works. ( Psalms 9:1 )

So today, I would like to share a poem with you about one
of my favorite seasons! I hope you will enjoy it...

Summer's Golden Days

Summer spills her golden days
Upon the earth in lush displays.
She softly sways the apple trees
As songbirds sing sweet melodies.
Summer wears a flower flock
Of goldenrod and hollyhock.
She spreads her magic uncontrolled
In blankets colored bright and bold.
Summer sings her lullabies
To buzzing bees and butterflies.
Silver moonbeams light the night;
I see a falling star in flight.
God sends the Summer scenery,
The birds, the bees, the greenery.
His tranquil nights and sun-filled days
He sends in summertime displays.
Poet, Nora M. Bozeman

life is an echo

LIFE IS AN ECHO

A son and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention." And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: "People call this echo, but really this is life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspect of life; life will give you back everything you have given to it."

-- Author Unknown

where is GOD?

Where is God?
---===<<< >>>===---

In a certain suburban neighborhood, there were two brothers,
8 and 10 years old, who were exceedingly mischievous.
Whenever something went wrong in the neighborhood, it turned
out they had a hand in it. Their parents were at their wits' end
trying to control them.

Hearing about a Minister nearby who worked with delinquent
boys, the mother suggested to the father that they ask the
Minister to talk with the boys. The father agreed. The mother
went to the Minister and made her request. He agreed, but said
he wanted to see the younger boy first and alone.

So the mother sent him to the Minister. The Minister sat the boy
down on the other side of his huge, impressive desk. For about
five minutes they just sat and stared at each other.

Finally, the Minister pointed his forefinger at the boy and asked
"Where is God?"
The boy looked under the desk, in the corners of the room, all
around, but said nothing.
Again, louder, the Minister pointed at the boy and asked,
"Where Is God?"
Again the boy looked all around but said nothing. A third time,
in a louder, firmer voice, the Minister leaned far across the
desk and put his forefinger almost to the boy's nose, and asked
"WHERE IS GOD!"

The boy panicked and ran all the way home. Finding his older
brother, he dragged him upstairs to their room and into the
closet, where they usually plotted their mischief. He finally said,
"We are in B-I-I-I-I-G trouble now!" The older boy asked, "What
do you mean, B-I-I-I-I-G trouble?" His brother replied, "God is
missing and they think we did it."
---===<<< >>>===---

attitude

ATTITUDE

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind.

I already decided to love it ... "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in .. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.
________________________________________

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

No one can go back and make a brand new start.
Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards.

Don't stay on the bumps too long. Move on!

When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you.

When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means.
There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved, the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.

It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride.

We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give.

Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his place. Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.

May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. "I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

-- Author Unknown

fathers day....never alone

On Father's Day let us not forget
our Heavenly Father as well, for after all; Have we not all one
Father? Did He not create us? ( Malachi 2:10 )

Therefore on this day I would like to share the following poem
with you. A poem dedicated to our Heavenly Father!

Never Alone!

He can calm the troubled waters
When you walk in dark despair.
There is hope when you feel helpless
Knowing that the Lord is there...

Sharing in your sunshine moments
Or in valleys deep and wide,
He is always by your side.

There's no other friend so faithful
Through the sunshine and rain,
Through the teardrops and the laughter,
In your joy and in your pain.

We could never, ever thank Him
For His love He gives so free,
Never changing...never ending
Throughout all eternity.

Oh, the wonder of all wonders
As we live from day to day,
Knowing that we have a Father
Who is with us all the way.
Poet, Gertrude B. McClain