Never think you're too small to make a difference

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People are a little bit like durian

Seeing the good and possibilities in others can be likened to loving some of those odd and oftentimes highly sought-after fruits, like durian*. Durian is an acquired taste, and yet there are people fanatically dedicated to durian. Others find that hard to believe. *(The edible fruit of a tree, Durio zibethinus, in Southeast Asia, which has a hard, prickly rind, a highly flavored, pulpy flesh, and an unpleasant odor.)

     What makes people crave a fruit like durian? What makes them elevate it to a "king of fruits" status? Why do they light up when they see clumps of those prickly, greenish-brown husks hanging liberally from vendor stalls? How do they get past the pungent, even revolting, odor? What makes them fight their way through the thick, prickly outer husk in order to reach the inside? What makes them obsessed with this fruit that smells like—as some people describe it—dirty socks?

    They've fallen in love with what's inside those prickly green husks. They've made it past the prickly outer shell, past the foul smell, and they have tasted the exquisite center. And once they've tasted it, they'll do whatever it takes—clothes-peg their nose and fight with their bare hands if need be—in order to get to that delicious, sweet, creamy center again and again.

     Loving people and seeing the good and possibilities in others is similar to getting to the heart of a durian. People can sometimes be prickly. They can have thick, crusty outer shells. Their presence can sometimes repel rather than attract. People can sometimes be stinky—when they do and say stinky things, or when they sin, as everyone does at times. But to the true people-lover, those barriers and obstacles merely add to the challenge and excitement of reaching that heart of gold—that sweet center of the inner person that you know is there. If it were any easier to get close to people, some of the excitement would be lost, and some of the allure of the adventure would be lost.

     Durian is the king of fruits to some. Likewise, people are My crowning creations on Earth—each one having a heart and soul that is more valuable and precious than all that this world has to offer. Anyone who has reached inside another's heart, and who has seen what lies beneath the often crusty, prickly shell, has seen the soft and often hurting center. Within that center lies great potential. Within that center lies good. Within that center lies possibility that just needs to be believed in and highlighted.

     Once you have touched the center of someone, and then someone else, and then someone else, you start to see that beneath all the layers and tough exterior, everyone has that special place inside that needs to be loved, that needs to be believed in, that needs to be encouraged and appreciated.

    People need passionate and dedicated friends and family who love them, who know that there is good and possibility deep inside of them, and who will do anything to reach that beautiful center.

The Greater Victory

       BELOVED, REMEMBER: YOURS IS A GREATER VICTORY than those even who got the victory which was obvious, victory which was evident, victory over the trial, experiencing the tribulation and affliction and got the victory.
      BUT THERE WERE THOSE OF US WHO WOULD NOT ACCEPT DELIVERANCE, who have been tortured that we "might obtain a better resurrection"--better than what?--Better than our dear beloved brethren who had such great conquests and victories and did so many mighty works and miracles.
     THEY "QUENCHED THE VIOLENCE OF FIRE, ESCAPED THE EDGE OF THE SWORD, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens," and "received their dead even raised to life again."--Oh how they preached that the greatest thing would be to raise the dead, the greatest thing would be to perform many mighty signs and wonders and miracles!
     GOD SOMETIMES GETS HIS GREATEST VICTORIES OUT OF SEEMING DEFEAT. He does His greatest miracles out of the most impossible situations, and He gets His greatest glory from seeming, utter, absolute failure.

M.D.

Jen Chapin - Into The Mystic (Van Morrison)

The Trials of a Teacup

I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time in my life when I was just a lump of clay. Then my Master took me and began to pat and mold and shape me. It was very painful and I begged Him to stop, but He only smiled and said, “Not yet!”

Then He placed me on a spinning wheel and I went ’round and ’round. I got so sick I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but then He finally let me off. Just as I thought I was going to be all right, my Master put me in an oven. I’ve never understood why He wanted to burn me; I yelled and begged for Him to stop, to let me out. I could see dimly through the glass in the oven door, but He only smiled, shook His head and said, “Not yet!”

Finally He came and took me out. “Oh, that sure feels better,” I said to myself. Then all of the sudden, my Master picked me up and started sanding and brushing me. Then He took a paintbrush and started painting colors all over me. The fumes were so strong I thought I was going to pass out. I pleaded with Him to stop, but He continued to smile and said, “Not yet!”

Then He placed me in another oven. This one was twice as hot as the first. I knew that I would suffocate. I begged, I pleaded, I cried, but He still only smiled and said, “Not yet!”

I began to feel there was no hope. I would never make it. I couldn’t take any more. It was all over for me. I decided to give it all up. Then the door swung open and Master said, “Now!”

He lifted me up and He placed me on a shelf to rest. Later He came to me with a mirror and told me to look. As I looked at myself, I could not believe my eyes. I said, “Oh my, what a beautiful teacup.”

Then the Master explained: “I want you to understand that I knew it hurt when I patted and molded you. I knew the spinning wheel made you sick. But if I had left you alone, you would have dried up and always have been just a lump of clay. You would not have had any personality in your life.

“I knew it was hot when I put you in the first oven, but if I hadn’t, you would just have crumbled.

“I knew it really bothered you to be brushed and painted, but if I hadn’t, you would not have had any color in your life.

“Oh, how I knew the second oven was hard for you! But you see, if I had not put you there, you would not have been able to stand the pressures of life. Your strength would not have lasted, so you would not have survived for very long .

“So you see, when you thought it was all so very hard, I still had you in My care. I knew all along what you would be today. I had the finished product in mind from the day I first touched you!”

Change journey & a piece of clothing

You can think of your personal change journey as being like a piece of clothing. Turn it inside-out. That’s when you see how it’s made. You see all the inner stitching and what holds it together. You see the quality of the seam work. You see the labels, the washing and drying instructions. You see if it’s made to last or if it’s a little flaky. You see if it needs the delicate cycle or if it’s sturdy enough to take the normal or even tough cycle. Inside-out is where you essentially get to see what that piece of clothing is made of.
Every person is a different piece of clothing, each piece requiring customized care and customized washing and drying. Right now you feel like that piece of clothing being turned inside-out. You’re getting to take a hard look at the inside of you and how you operate—your mindsets, the different attitudes and perspectives you’ve adhered to over the years, and how you appear to others.
Real change comes from the inside.

Desperate Prayer

This is one of those special songs that lifts me when I'm down, warms me when I'm cold, wipes my tears & gives me a reason to smile again cause it reminds me that the raging storm will cease.
Click on the post title to hear the song.

What is Love

What is Love? Divine adornment
Of the soul that wears it high.
It's the crystal-golden pathway
Keeping us by Jesus' side!

It's sublime and never ending
Always following God's own chart,
Reaching over lands and oceans
To console a single heart.

Jesus, Jesus, Lord of loving,
Teach me from Thy tender heart
How to serve all those around me,
To fulfill my loving part!

I found love; I found the answer!
Finally I've found out now
That to love and serve another
I just have to ask You how!

Every soul that looks to Heaven,
Every heart that's warm and kind,
Can discover in God's beauty
All that no one else can find!
--Christina Rose

The Secret To You