The Teacup

There was a couple who took a trip to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone.' But he only smiled, and gently said; 'Not yet!'" "Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick,' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.'"He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then… Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. Help! Get me out of here! I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'.""When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! Ah, this is much better, I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please; Stop it, Stop it!' I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'.""Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited ------- and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next? An 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!'Quietly he spoke: 'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just 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 know it hurt and it 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. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.
"God knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will.So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this....Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest teacup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter.

The Strength

A little boy was playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With no little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was very large.)When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn't roll it up and over the little wall. Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox.The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, and shoved; but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers.. Finally he burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy's father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy's father.Gently but firmly he said, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you had available?Defeated, the boy sobbed back, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!""No, son," corrected the father kindly. "You didn't use all the strength you had. You didn't ask me."With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.Do you have "rocks" in your life that need to be removed? Are you discovering that you don't have what it takes to lift them? There is One who is always available to us and willing to give us the strength we need.Isn't it funny how we try so hard to do things ourselves. Sadly, many peoples are trying to do everything themselves and only turning to God as a last resort.God wants to be your first resort. Let Him help you with your trials, tribulations and temperament. He loves you so much . . . all He wants you to do is ask Him to help.
When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something!!!

Memorable Quotes.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present." - Eleanor Roosevelt
"End your day by privately looking directly into your eyes in the mirror and saying, 'I love you!' Do this for thirty days and watch how you transform." - Mark Victor Hansen
"Thoughts and ideas are the source of all wealth, success, material gain, all great discoveries, inventions and achievements." - Mark Victor Hansen
"Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements." - Napoleon Hill
"Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind."
- Emily P. Bissell
"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." - Oprah Winfrey
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars." - Les Brown
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"One man with courage is a majority." - Andrew Jackson
"One step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything." - Scott Reed
"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going!" - Jim Ryun
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
- T.S.Eliot
"Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success." - Swami Sivananda
"The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication." - Cecil B. DeMille
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean.It's perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday."
- John Wayne
"To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world."
- G.K. Chesterton
"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination."
- Tommy Lasorda
"The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time." - Abraham Lincoln
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
-Mother Theresa

Build Your Brain Bank

Every walk around the block, every dumbbell curl, every yoga pose -- each is a good investment in your mind. Time and time again, research has shown that if you keep your body busy today, your brain is less likely to suffer from memory thieves like Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia tomorrow. Why is exercise so important? It boosts cerebral blood flow and stimulates the growth of new gray matter. Maybe bodybuilding should be called brain building.No single type of exercise has an edge in protecting your brain. Studies have found cognitive benefits from aerobic exercise (brisk walking, biking, raking leaves) as well as from strength and flexibility workouts, such as lifting weights and holding yoga poses; they all provide long-term protection. Even activities that you probably don't think of as "exercise" count, including picking up your niece's favorite toy for the umpteenth time, doing three loads of laundry while waiting for the cable company, or pacing the floor as you watch your team lose in overtime. What else can you do to keep moving?
RealAge Benefit: Exercising regularly can make your RealAge as much as 9 years younger.

The Buzzard, Bat & Bumblebee

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up.
Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but Faith looks up!!

JOKES

Lawyer’s Prayers.
There is a story about a lawyer who only says his prayers once in a year, New Year’s Day. The rest of the time he just jumps into bed, and says, “Ditto”.
Rotten apples
Customer: Three of those apples you sent me were rotten. I am bringing them back.
Storekeeper: That’s all right, madam. You needn’t bring them back. Your word is as good as the apples.
Greatest Financier.
Do you know that Noah was the greatest financier that ever lived?
How do you make that out?
“Well, he was able to float a company when the whole world was in liquidation.
Wall Street Broker.
A broker sought admission at the pearly gates.
“Who are you?” said St.Peter.
“I am a Wall Street Broker.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to get in.”
“What have you done that entitles you to admission?”
“Well, I saw a decrepit woman on Broadway the other day and gave two cents.”
“Gabriel, is that on the records?”
“Yes, St.Peter; it’s marked down to his credit.”
“What else have you done?”
“Well, I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge the other night and met a newsboy half frozen to death and gave him one cent.”
“Gabriel, is that on the records?”
“Yes, St.Peter.”
“What else have you done?”
“Well, I can’t recollect any thing else just now.”
“Gabriel, what do you think we ought to do with this fellow?”
“Oh, give him back his three cents and tell him to go to hell.”
Wife
“My wife is irritable; the least thing sets her off.”
“You are lucky at that, mine’s a self-starter.”

JOKES

Lawyer’s Prayers.
There is a story about a lawyer who only says his prayers once in a year, New Year’s Day. The rest of the time he just jumps into bed, and says, “Ditto”.
Rotten apples
Customer: Three of those apples you sent me were rotten. I am bringing them back.
Storekeeper: That’s all right, madam. You needn’t bring them back. Your word is as good as the apples.
Greatest Financier.
Do you know that Noah was the greatest financier that ever lived?
How do you make that out?
“Well, he was able to float a company when the whole world was in liquidation.
Wall Street Broker.
A broker sought admission at the pearly gates.
“Who are you?” said St.Peter.
“I am a Wall Street Broker.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to get in.”
“What have you done that entitles you to admission?”
“Well, I saw a decrepit woman on Broadway the other day and gave two cents.”
“Gabriel, is that on the records?”
“Yes, St.Peter; it’s marked down to his credit.”
“What else have you done?”
“Well, I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge the other night and met a newsboy half frozen to death and gave him one cent.”
“Gabriel, is that on the records?”
“Yes, St.Peter.”
“What else have you done?”
“Well, I can’t recollect any thing else just now.”
“Gabriel, what do you think we ought to do with this fellow?”
“Oh, give him back his three cents and tell him to go to hell.”
Wife
“My wife is irritable; the least thing sets her off.”
“You are lucky at that, mine’s a self-starter.”

Can you break the chains?

As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
I saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well”, he said, when they were very young and much smaller, we used the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, they were enough to hold them. As they grew up, they were conditioned to believe they could not break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free”.
I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Like elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we can not do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Can you break the chains?

As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
I saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well”, he said, when they were very young and much smaller, we used the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, they were enough to hold them. As they grew up, they were conditioned to believe they could not break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free”.
I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Like elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we can not do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Three Kernels of Corn.

Three young men were once given three kernels of corn apiece by a wise old sage, who admonished them to go out into the world, and use the corn to bring themselves good fortune. The first young man put his three kernels of corn into a bowl of hot broth and ate them. The second thought, I can do better than that, and he planted his three kernels of corn. Within a few months, he had three stalks of corn. He took the ears of corn from the stalks, boiled them, and had enough corn for three meals. The third man said to himself, I can do better than that! He also planted his three kernels of corn, but when his three stalks of corn produced, he stripped one of the stalks and replanted all of the seeds in it, gave the second stalk of corn to a sweet maiden, and ate the third. His one full stalk's worth of replanted corn kernels gave him 200 stalks of corn! And the kernels of these he continued to replant, setting aside only a bare minimum to eat. He eventually planted a hundred acres of corn. With his fortune, he not only won the hand of the sweet maiden but purchased the land owned by the sweet maiden's father. And he never hungered again.
The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed- Proverb

INSPIRING STORIES.

THE TAILER’S NEEDLE
A tailor was at work. He took a piece of cloth and with a pair of shining, costly, scissors he cut the cloth into various bits. Then he put the pairs of scissors at his feet. Then he took a small needle and thread and started to sew the bits of cloth, into a fine shirt. When the spell of sewing was over, he stuck the needle on to his turban.
The tailor’s son who was watching it asked him: “Father, the scissors are costly and look so beautiful. But you throw them down at your feet. This needle is worth almost nothing; you can get a dozen for an anna. Yet, you place it carefully on your head itself. Is there any reason for this illogical behavior?”
“Yes. My son. The scissors have their function, no doubt; but they only cut the cloth into bits. The needle, on the contrary, unites the bits and enhances the value of the cloth. Therefore, the needle to me is more precious and valuable.
The value of a thing depends on its utility, son, not on its cost price or appearance.”

BIG HANDS !!!
Once, a little boy went to a shop with his mother. The shopkeeper looked at the small cute child and showed him a bottle of candies and said, ”Dear child, you can take the candies.” But the child didn’t take. The shop keeper was surprised why such a small child was not taking the candies from the bottle. So, he said again, “Take candies”……Now mother also heard that and said “Son, take the candies.” Yet he didn’t take. The shopkeeper, seeing the child not taking the candies, himself took the candies and gave them to the child. The child was happy to get two hands full of candies. When they returned home, the mother asked the child, “Why didn’t you take the candies when the shopkeeper told you to take …?”
Can you guess the response?
The child replied, “Mom! My hands are very small and if I take the candies, I can only take few. But now you see when uncle gave them with his big hands….. how many more candies I got !”
When we take, we may get little but when GOD gives, HE gives us way beyond our expectations – more than what we can hold. We should always seek to ask to GOD, rather than individuals as HE is the ONE who gives to everyone with HIS power.

STORY WITH A MORAL
One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops, a few people got on, a few people got off, and things went generally well.
At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down at the back. The driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek… Naturally, he didn’t argue with Big John, but he wasn’t happy about it.
The next day the same thing happened. Big John got on again, and said, “ Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down. And so it happened on the next day, and the one after that, and so forth. This irritated the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of his size.
Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for a body building program, karate, judo and all that good stuff. By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong. So on the next Monday, when Big John got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” the driver stood up, glared back and screamed, “And why not?”
With a surprise look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has a bus pass.”
MORAL: First be sure if there is a problem before working hard to solve one.

WHAT KIND OF LIFE SPAN?
In Saudi, Ibrahim was a righteous man who had a kind hearted wife. One night this man dreamt that he was told that the Almighty Allah had fixed a particular life span for him. Half of it was to be in prosperity and other half in difficulties. He had the choice of whichever life he desired first and whichever condition he desired to have in the later life. The man requested for some time as he wanted to consult his wife as he had always sought her counsel in important matters.
Next day he related the dream to his wife, who told him to ask for prosperous life first. She said, “And hurry up to obtain it. May be Almighty Allah is pleased to grant us HIS bounties.” The next night when he was asked in his dream, he said that he wished for prosperity in the earlier part of life. He was told that his wish shall be fulfilled.
Thus, he began to receive all types of bounties and comforts. His wealth and property increased.
Then his wife said, “ O slave of Almighty Allah! Now you help your relatives and other deprived people. Do well to them. Give that particular thing to that neighbor and something to that friend of yours.”
The man followed the advice of his wife and was not stingy in giving away his wealth in charity. In this way, half his life passed. Again he dreamt of the same person who said, “You were not stingy in charity, therefore the Almighty Allah had decided to grant you prosperity in the latter half of your life as well!”

Memorable Quotes.

"Who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet." - German Proverb
"They can because they think they can." - Virgil
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts,we make the world." - Buddha
"The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one's destiny to do, and then do it."
- Henry Ford
"It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute... that gives meaning to our lives." - Anthony Robbins
"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil." - James Allen
"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." - Anthony Robbins
"Begin with the end in mind." - Dr. Stephen Covey
"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation." - Brian Tracy

Pearls Of Wisdom

Do less criticizing and pay more attention to complimenting.
Do less talking and pay more attention to silence.
The adventure of life is learning.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.