God's Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups."

"Now consider this," he continued... "Life is the coffee. The jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups... Enjoy your coffee!

Abundant Rain May Not Be Good

Neil Orchard was talking with a farmer about his soy bean and corn crops.

Rain had been abundant, and the results were evident.

So his comment surprised him: "My crops are especially vulnerable. Even a short drought could have a devastating effect."

"Why?" Orchard asked.

He explained that while we see the frequent rains as a benefit, during that time the plants are not required to push roots deeper in search of water.

The roots remain near the surface. A drought would find the plants unprepared and quickly kill them.

Some Christians receive abundant "rains" of worship, fellowship, and teaching.

Yet when stress enters their lives, many suddenly abandon God or think Him unfaithful.

Their roots have never pushed much below the surface.

Remember this, only roots grown deep into Jesus Christ help us endure times of drought in our lives.

God's Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

This Glass of Water Can Kill You

Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, “how much do you think this glass weighs? Maybe it's 50gms,100gms or 125gms?".

The students answered, “I really don’t know unless I weigh it.”

The professor said, "Now, my question is: 'What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?’"

‘Nothing’ the students said.

“Okay, what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?” the professor asked.

“Your arm would begin to ache” said one of the students.

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb! 

"You might have severe muscle stress and even paralysis! You'll then have to go to hospital for sure!" Ventured another student. All the students laughed.

“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass of water change?” Asked the professor.

“No” was the reply of all the students.

“Then what caused the arm to ache and the muscle to become stressed?” 

After a pause the professor asked “Before my arm aches, what should I do?”

The students were puzzled.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students.

“Exactly!” said the professor, “Life’s problems are exactly like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem all right. Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they will begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.”

It’s important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, you have to learn how to ‘put them down’. At the end of every day before you go to sleep, commit every care and stress of the day to the Lord. You will be surprise that many of the so-called 'problems' may look different after a good night rest.

By the grace of God, you will wake up refreshed, energized and ready to face another day!

Remember to put the glass down at the end of every day!