WORDS TO LIVE BY

Accept that some days you're the pigeon,
and some days you're the statue.

Always keep your words soft and sweet,
just in case you have to eat them.

Always read stuff that will make you look
good if you die in the middle of it.

Drive carefully. It's not only cars that
can be recalled by their maker.

Eat a live toad in the morning and nothing
worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

If you can't be kind, at least have the
decency to be vague.

If you lend someone $20, and never see
that person again, it was probably worth it.

It may be that your sole purpose in life
is simply to serve as a warning  to others.  

Never buy a car you can't push.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the
same time, because then you don't
have a leg to stand on.

Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.

The early worm gets eaten by the bird,
so sleep late.

When everything's coming your way,
you're in the wrong lane.

Birthdays are good for you; the more
you have, the longer you live.


You may be only one person in the world,
but you may also be the world to one person.  
 

Some mistakes are too much fun
to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over;
smile because it happened.

We could learn a lot from crayons:
some are sharp, some are pretty, some
are dull, some have weird names, and
all are different colors but they all
have to learn to live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can
enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Happiness comes through doors you
didn't even know you left open.

Have an awesome day, and know that
someone has thought about you today....

WHICH ARE YOU?

A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee...? You will never look at a
cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and
how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going
to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It
seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots
with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the
first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last
she placed ground coffee bean s. She let them sit and boil, without
saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.
She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see? "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.

The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked,"What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity ... boiling water .
Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. however, after being subjected to the boiling water,
it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after
sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity
do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death,
a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same,
but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.
When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst,
you get better and change the situation around you. W

hen the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

-----------------------------------

THE BRICK

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood
street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids
darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw
something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into
the Jag's side door. He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to
the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid
and pushed him up against a parked car  shouting, "What was that all about
and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and
that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I
didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one
else would stop..."

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed
to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said. "He rolled
off the curb and fell out of his wheel chair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please
help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling
lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the
wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh
scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be
okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the
stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy! push his
wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very
noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side
door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go through
life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" 
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we
don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to
listen or not.