The Teacup Story

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both
liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding
anniversary.
One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful cup. They said, "May we see that? We've
never seen one quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the cup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I
haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master
took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'let me alone,' but he
only smiled, 'Not yet.'
"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the cup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and
around and around. Stop it! I'm getting dizzy! I screamed. But the master only nodded and
said, 'Not yet.'

"Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat!" the teacup said. "I wondered why he
wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the
opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, 'Not yet.'
"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I
said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would
gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'
"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot
and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could
see him through the opening, nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'
"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the
door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf.

One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, 'That's
not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'

"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had
left you alone, you'd have dried up.
I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have
crumbled.
I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you
would have cracked.
I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that,
you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life.
And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because
the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"
~ Author Unknown
Lesson from the Teacup Story:
This teacup story illustrates what Jeremiah wrote by the inspiration of God:

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, "Arise and go down to the potter's
house, and there I shall announce My words to you." Then I went down to the potter's house,
and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay
was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the
potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Can I not, O house of Israel,
deal with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's
hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel." Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NASB)

Moral of the Teacup Story:

God knows what He's doing (for all of us).

He is the Potter, and we are His clay.
He will mold us and make us,
so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work
to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
May the teacup story become our story as we willingly yield to our Potter's hand.
 THE LEGEND OF THREE TREES
My favorite folktale is The Legend of Three Trees! The lesson it teaches goes way beyond
anything that can be considered "just a children's story"!

Walk through the life of Jesus and see that God's plans are bigger and better than any
dream! This story of three trees is a great read for Easter or anytime. Children will smile
and adults will sigh with wonder at the end.

Story - The Legend of Three Trees

Once there were three trees on the top of a hill overlooking a small valley. There they
discussed their hopes and dreams.

The first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I want to be filled with gold,
silver and precious gems! I'll be decorated with intricate carvings and everyone will see my
beauty."

The second tree spoke next, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and Queens
across the seas and sail to the far corners of the earth. Everyone will feel safe in me because
of the strength of my hull."

Finally, the third tree said, "I want to stay right here and grow to be the tallest and straightest
tree in the forest. People will look up to my branches as I stand on this hill and think of the
heavens and how close I am to reaching them. I will be the greatest tree of all time and
people will always remember me."
(All of us have dreams just like the trees in The Legend of Three Trees!)

After a few years of praying their dreams would come true, a group of woodcutters came
upon the trees. When one of them came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong and
beautiful tree, I think I would be able to sell this tree to a carpenter."

And he began to cut the tree down. The tree was very happy because he knew that a
carpenter could make him into a treasure chest just like he dreamed.

At the second tree another woodcutter spoke, "This looks like a strong tree too, I should be
able to sell this tree to a shipyard."

The second tree was even happier than the first tree because he knew that he was on his way
to becoming a mighty ship.
When the other woodcutter saw the third tree, the tree was frightened because he heard the
woodcutter say, "I don't have any special need for this tree, but I'll just cut it down and see
later if I will have any need of it."
The third tree thought his dreams would never come true now!

When the first tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was surprised to be made into a simple feed-
box for animals. He was placed in a barn and filled with hay so the animals could eat. This
was not what the first tree had dreamed of, or prayed for, and he was very disappointed.
The second tree was taken to the shipyard, but he wasn't made into a large ship. He became a
plain fishing boat with only the strength to carry a few fishermen. His dreams of being a
mighty ship, carrying Kings and Queens across the seas, faded away.

The third tree was cut up into large ugly beams then left all alone in the darkness.

Many years went by and all three trees forgot about their hopes, their dreams and their
prayers.

(Have you ever been at a point in life in which you felt like your dreams were gone forever?
Just like in Legend of Three Trees we can be encouraged that God is always in control and
when we trust Him, He is able to do exceeding, abundantly more than we can think or
imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)

Finally, one day a man and a woman came to the barn to stay because there was no room
anywhere else. The woman gave birth to a baby boy while she was there, and she placed him
in the hay in the plain, simple feed-box. The man wished he could have made a proper crib
for the baby but this feed-box would have to do.
Somehow the first tree felt the importance of this event and knew that he had indeed held the
greatest treasure of all time!
Some years later a group of men got into the small fishing boat made from the timber of the
second tree. One of them was tired and fell fast asleep. A great storm came up and the
second tree did not think he was strong enough to keep the men safe.
The other men in the fishing boat then woke the man who was asleep and he said, "Peace!"
and the storm suddenly stopped.
Now the second tree knew he had indeed carried the King of Kings.

About three years later, someone came and pulled the third tree's beams from the dark shed.
It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When
they came to a stop on top of a small hill, they nailed the man to the tree. Then they raised it
into the air for him to die there. She shuddered in shame.
When Sunday morning came though, the third tree suddenly came to realize that it was
indeed strong enough to stand on the top of a hill for all to see and know he was closer to
heaven than he could ever have imagined.

That was better than being the tallest tree in the world!

Original author of The Legend of Three Trees is unknown - traditional folktale.

Be encouraged! God says in Jeremiah 29:11-14 -

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for
disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you
look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you," says the
LORD."

Seek Him....He says He will be found by us, when we seek Him with our whole heart!

Just as The Legend of Three Trees points out - God's plans for us are bigger and better than
anything we could ever dream!
 THE HUMMINGBIRD STORY
A parable of the Quechuan people of South America, this hummingbird story encourages us
to do what we can when we can.

How many times do we look at the world around us and become overwhelmed? Do we ever
look at what "big" things other people are doing and compare ourselves thinking our efforts
are too small?

Be encouraged by this parable that our small efforts become big in the hands of God!
"Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks through Him to God the Father."

Colossians 3:17

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it
is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ
whom you serve.
Colossians 3:23-24
”Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well
done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible
for our own conduct."
Galatians 6:4-5
The Hummingbird Story -

Once there was a great forest fire.

All the animals fled to the edge of the forest and froze in fear not knowing what to do. They
watched as the flames began destroying the beauty of their home.
Finally a tiny hummingbird flew to a body of water and took a few drops into its beak. It
then flew quickly toward the fire allowing the drops to fall on the roaring flames.

Over and over the tiny bird continued.

Drop by drop.
Back and forth.

Again and again.

The other animals watched from the edge of the forest, and called to the little bird, "What are
you doing?"

The hummingbird replied, "I am doing what I can."

 (Abbreviated in my own words)

How often we can become overwhelmed by fear or the shear size of problems and become
paralyzed to do nothing. Or we may compare ourselves to others and feel too small to
matter.
Small. What we consider to be small and insignificant may actually be huge in God's
scheme of things. Have you ever noticed how often God's view and the world's view are
opposite? The world says, "Be first!" God says, "Be last." The world says, "Go, go,
go!" God says, "Be still." The world says, "Bigger is better!" God says, "Small is
important."
The widow giving her offering of two small coins in Luke 21:1-4, was affirmed by Jesus
when He said she had given more than all the rest. Jesus went on to say in Luke 16:10, "He
who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much.

In God's hands, small can become big just like in John 6 when a boy's lunch of five loaves
and two fish became enough to feed over 5,000 and also have leftovers!
This little hummingbird story can remind us to do what we can. Everything we do for the
Lord Jesus matters. It counts!

Every word.
Every prayer.

Every act of kindness.

Every hug.

Every penny.

Small counts in the hands of our BIG God!