Monday, August 31, 2009
THE LILY AND THE BLUEBIRD
THE LILY AND THE BLUEBIRD
Contributed by Daphne Harrington
August 29, 2009
Once upon a time there was a beautiful lily. This lily had a bluebird
friend who used to perch on a nearby fencepost and visit with her
nearly every day. Together they enjoyed observing the rancher and his
family who owned the place where they lived. They watched as, day
after day, the rancher and his family worked tirelessly. Though their
ranch was profitable and their hard work admirable, the conversation
the friends overheard and the things they observed were curious to the
pair. It seemed the more profitable the ranch became, the more the
family thought they needed.
The bluebird made an observational flight over the rancher's domain,
"You know, lily," he said upon his return, "All their hard work is
really paying off. They have increased and improved this place
substantially in the last few years."
"I know," replied the lily, "But have you also noticed that along with
their increase they have less and less time for each other. They have
all but quit going to church, and I hear them arguing more and more.
And come to think of it," she observed, "I used to see the farmer and
his wife taking long walks. Sometimes they walked together, hand in
hand and at other times I used to see each of them taking time out of
their busy days for a stroll alone in the woods, talking with the
Lord. Nowadays however, they are too busy for that."
The bluebird chimed in, "Now they've turned the management of the farm
over to the farmhands and have both taken jobs in the city in order to
earn even more money so they can keep up the possessions they already
have."
"Yes, and they've also bought a second home in Florida so they can
have a nice warm place to live when it gets too cold here," said the
lily.
The bluebird heaved a mournful sigh, "Lily," he said, "When the
rancher and his family went to church, do you think they heard how the
Heavenly Father told them to take a close look at you and me and to
observe the secret of simplicity in how He takes care of His
creatures? It seems to me they are complicating their lives instead of
making them better.
To all this, the beautiful lily replied, "Why is it that people go to
school and study textbooks and learn many great things, yet they
aren't smart enough to read God's textbook on life and apply it?"
"Yeah," said the bluebird, "Then they too could fly and be free."
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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claim to own any copyright privileges on it. All the messages are
believed to be free for circulation or public domain. All messages come
in either by email in original form or copied from the internet sites.
The work was submitted to us as an item for distribution, and it was
posted solely on the basis of its quality.
� 2009 FoodForThought
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Contributed by Daphne Harrington
August 29, 2009
Once upon a time there was a beautiful lily. This lily had a bluebird
friend who used to perch on a nearby fencepost and visit with her
nearly every day. Together they enjoyed observing the rancher and his
family who owned the place where they lived. They watched as, day
after day, the rancher and his family worked tirelessly. Though their
ranch was profitable and their hard work admirable, the conversation
the friends overheard and the things they observed were curious to the
pair. It seemed the more profitable the ranch became, the more the
family thought they needed.
The bluebird made an observational flight over the rancher's domain,
"You know, lily," he said upon his return, "All their hard work is
really paying off. They have increased and improved this place
substantially in the last few years."
"I know," replied the lily, "But have you also noticed that along with
their increase they have less and less time for each other. They have
all but quit going to church, and I hear them arguing more and more.
And come to think of it," she observed, "I used to see the farmer and
his wife taking long walks. Sometimes they walked together, hand in
hand and at other times I used to see each of them taking time out of
their busy days for a stroll alone in the woods, talking with the
Lord. Nowadays however, they are too busy for that."
The bluebird chimed in, "Now they've turned the management of the farm
over to the farmhands and have both taken jobs in the city in order to
earn even more money so they can keep up the possessions they already
have."
"Yes, and they've also bought a second home in Florida so they can
have a nice warm place to live when it gets too cold here," said the
lily.
The bluebird heaved a mournful sigh, "Lily," he said, "When the
rancher and his family went to church, do you think they heard how the
Heavenly Father told them to take a close look at you and me and to
observe the secret of simplicity in how He takes care of His
creatures? It seems to me they are complicating their lives instead of
making them better.
To all this, the beautiful lily replied, "Why is it that people go to
school and study textbooks and learn many great things, yet they
aren't smart enough to read God's textbook on life and apply it?"
"Yeah," said the bluebird, "Then they too could fly and be free."
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join our group on Facebook and post your comments on the reflection: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142903436398
Webpage: http://www.dailyfoodforthought.org/
Group Address: http://groups.google.com/group/dailyfoodforthought
GROUP CONTACT:
To subscribe from this group, share a reflection or feedback
on the reflection of the day, send email to: foodforthought2@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe : dailyfoodforthought-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
DISCLAIMER: FoodForThought shared this message as submitted and do not
claim to own any copyright privileges on it. All the messages are
believed to be free for circulation or public domain. All messages come
in either by email in original form or copied from the internet sites.
The work was submitted to us as an item for distribution, and it was
posted solely on the basis of its quality.
� 2009 FoodForThought
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
THE PERFECT MISTAKE
THE PERFECT MISTAKE
Author Unknown
August 31, 2009
My Mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he
was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to
orphanages in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket
to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his
earlier actions, he realized what had happened; the glasses had
slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates,
which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for
China!
The Great Depression was at it's height and Grandpa had six children.
He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by
the thought of having to buy another pair. "It's not fair," he told
God as he drove home in frustration. "I've been very faithful in
giving of my time and money to your work, and now this."
Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the
United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him
in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather' s small
church in Chicago. The missionary began by thanking the people for
their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he
said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see,
the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying
everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the
money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with
not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my
coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates
arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of
glasses lying on top.
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then,
still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks, when I
tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just
for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the
missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they
thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent
overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down
his face, an ordinary
carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an
extraordinary way.
There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking him! Perhaps
it is something we ought to try more often, "Thank you God for not
allowing my car to start this morning." He may have been saving your
life from a car accident. "Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me lose
my glasses; I'm sure they'll be put to good use or there is a lesson
to be learned."
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join our group on Facebook and post your comments on the reflection: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142903436398
Webpage: http://www.dailyfoodforthought.org/
Group Address: http://groups.google.com/group/dailyfoodforthought
GROUP CONTACT:
To subscribe from this group, share a reflection or feedback
on the reflection of the day, send email to: foodforthought2@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe : dailyfoodforthought-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
DISCLAIMER: FoodForThought shared this message as submitted and do not
claim to own any copyright privileges on it. All the messages are
believed to be free for circulation or public domain. All messages come
in either by email in original form or copied from the internet sites.
The work was submitted to us as an item for distribution, and it was
posted solely on the basis of its quality.
� 2009 FoodForThought
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Author Unknown
August 31, 2009
My Mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he
was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to
orphanages in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket
to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his
earlier actions, he realized what had happened; the glasses had
slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates,
which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for
China!
The Great Depression was at it's height and Grandpa had six children.
He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by
the thought of having to buy another pair. "It's not fair," he told
God as he drove home in frustration. "I've been very faithful in
giving of my time and money to your work, and now this."
Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the
United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him
in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather' s small
church in Chicago. The missionary began by thanking the people for
their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he
said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see,
the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying
everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the
money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with
not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my
coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates
arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of
glasses lying on top.
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then,
still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks, when I
tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just
for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the
missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they
thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent
overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down
his face, an ordinary
carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an
extraordinary way.
There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking him! Perhaps
it is something we ought to try more often, "Thank you God for not
allowing my car to start this morning." He may have been saving your
life from a car accident. "Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me lose
my glasses; I'm sure they'll be put to good use or there is a lesson
to be learned."
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join our group on Facebook and post your comments on the reflection: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142903436398
Webpage: http://www.dailyfoodforthought.org/
Group Address: http://groups.google.com/group/dailyfoodforthought
GROUP CONTACT:
To subscribe from this group, share a reflection or feedback
on the reflection of the day, send email to: foodforthought2@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe : dailyfoodforthought-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
DISCLAIMER: FoodForThought shared this message as submitted and do not
claim to own any copyright privileges on it. All the messages are
believed to be free for circulation or public domain. All messages come
in either by email in original form or copied from the internet sites.
The work was submitted to us as an item for distribution, and it was
posted solely on the basis of its quality.
� 2009 FoodForThought
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
