Two mice fell into a deep cream bowl. One was an optimistic soul. But the other took the gloomy view. “We’ll drown,” he lamented without much ado. With a last despairing cry, he flung up his legs and said “Goodbye.” The other mouse said with a steadfast grin, “I can’t get out but I won’t give in. I’ll just swim around until my strength is spent, then I’ll die all the more content.” Bravely he swam to work his scheme, and his struggles began to churn the cream. The more he swam, his legs a flutter, the more the cream turned into butter. On top of the butter at last he stopped, and out of the bowl he happily hopped. What is the moral? It’s easily found. If you can’t hop out, keep swimming around!
Thought Provokers
291 posts
Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”
Be careful of the words you say, Keep them soft and sweet, You never know from day to day, Which ones you’ll have to eat.
A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys full of youthful after-school enthusiasm came down his street beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action. The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do your thing.” The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trash cans. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look” he said, “I haven’t received my Social Security (Pension) check yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?” “A lousy quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we’re going to waste our time beating these cans around for a quarter, you’re nuts! No way, mister. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.
One day, as I was trying to pack for vacation, my 3-year-old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point, she said, “Mom, look at this,” and stuck out two of her fingers. Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her fingers in my mouth and said, “Mommy gonna eat your fingers!” pretending to eat them before I rushed out of the room again. When I returned, my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face. I said, “What’s wrong honey?” “Mommy, where’s my booger?”
Take 15 minutes for yourself today to do absolutely nothing. No phone scrolling, no call returning, no anything. Just sit there, take a deep breath, and look out the window. It’s worth it.
Here’s a tip for getting out of jury duty: When asked a question, begin every answer with, “According to the prophecy…”
Why? Why Not? Why Not You? Why Not You Now?
Once upon a time there was a piece of iron that was very strong. One after another, the ax, the saw, the hammer and the flame tried to break it. “I’ll master it, said the ax. Its blows fell heavily on the iron, but every blow made its edge more blunt, until it ceased to strike. “Leave it to me,” said the saw, and it worked backward and forward on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then it fell aside. “Ah!” said the hammer. “I knew you wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you the way.” But at the first fierce blow, off flew its head, and the iron remained as before. “Shall I try?” asked the small, soft flame? “Forget it,” all replied. “What can you do?” But the flame curled around the iron, embraced it, and never left the iron until it melted under the flame’s irresistible influence. – Aesop
A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary class taught 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 they disliked or someone who had made them angry in the past. Then he would allow them to throw darts at the person’s picture. Sally’s friend 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 at the overall effect she had achieved. The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, but was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats. As Sally sat down, 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 only these words, “I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40) No other words were necessary – the eyes of each student focused only on the picture of Christ.
A 10-year-old, under the tutelage of her grandmother, was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible. Then one day she floored her grandmother by asking, “Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus: the Virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?”
A wise man was asked: What is anger? His answer – it is a punishment you give yourself for someone else’s mistakes.