About Pearls
June 7th, 2011 | 
Author: 
The Pearl
Pearls are formed when a foreign object or irritant like a single grain of sand enters an oyster shell.
Instead of complaining — and this is just my opinion — the oyster admits the fact that it has to deal with the irritant from within.
Thus, the oyster covers the grain of sand with a layer of coating, one at a time, ever so patiently across a long, long time.
The result of this patience, perseverance and positive reaction to such a small irritation becomes a treasured item — a pearl. The longer the effort and patience, the bigger the reward.
Just as it takes enormous amounts of water to quench a fire that was started by a small spark, it takes enormous amounts of love to overcome just a small hatred in this world. And knowing how much hatred there is, the amount of love required is mind boggling.
As CFC turns 30 this month, the irritant (CFC) that penetrated the Oyster (the world) has now become a pearl which is a manifest to the patience, long hours of work and selfless devotion of those who, as the oyster, have responded positively.
Preaching the word of God is never a popular thing. It is an irritant to worldly men.
Only those who respond with patience to the irritation brought about by carrying the cross and walking in the path of righteousness will one day realize a pearl that comes as a result of their perseverance.
Here’s a song which I think is appropriate for this writeup.
Enjoy!
Posted in 
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Don’t Worry
Worrying is an overall generalized feeling of fear that has no particular focus. Worrying stems from fear of the unknown and a preoccupation of what could happen tomorrow.
The only thing that we can be completely sure of is that we are here — now. We have had to face difficult situations in the past, and we have survived them. We will be forced to face challenges in the future and we have the resources to take them on.
When I realize that I have begun to worry, I tell myself that worrying is useless. Instead of trying to predict future disasters, I choose to deal with the current situation and to keep a positive attitude.
Yep, that’s the attitude. Think positive. I have included below some profound passages about this subject.
Enjoy!
Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and the providence of God
Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due
Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind;
If encouraged, it will cut a channel so wide that all other thoughts will be drowned in it
Worry is faith in the negative,
Trust in the unpleasant,
Assurance of disaster,
and belief in defeat
Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles
Related Article: Hakuna Matata
An Interesting Conversation
The Atheist Professor and the Christian Student
Here’s a good one. It’s all about faith – the common denominator that links man with God.
An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his class on the problem science has with GOD, the ALMIGHTY. He asked one of his Christian students to stand and . . .
Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD Good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor : Is GOD ALL – POWERFUL ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill.
But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent )
Professor : You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella.
Is GOD Good?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Is Satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor : Where does Satan come from ?
Student : From … GOD …
Professor : That’s right … Tell me son, is there evil in this World?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor : So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer)
Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness?
All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, who Created them ?
(Student had no answer)
Professor : Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you..
Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD?
Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing.. I only have my Faith.
Professor : Yes, Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor : Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )
Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat,
a Little Heat or No Heat..
But we don’t have anything called Cold.
We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can’t go any further after that.
There is no such thing as Cold.
Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat.
We cannot Measure Cold.
Heat is Energy.
Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.
(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )
Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?
Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn’t Darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir.
Darkness is the Absence of Something
You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . .
But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn’t it?
In reality, Darkness isn’t.
If it were, you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality.
You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD.
You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, Science can’t even explain a Thought.
It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that
Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing.
Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?
Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument was going )
Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and
Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavor,
Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir?
Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
(The Class was in Uproar )
Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor’s Brain?
(The Class broke out into Laughter )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . .
No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says that You have No Brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?
(The Room was Silent.. The Professor stared at the Student, his face unfathomable)
Professor : I guess you’ll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly !
The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH.
That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.
G.U.I.DANCE
GUIDANCE
Here is an article with a message inscribed within the word GUIDANCE. It gives us a very good perspective about putting our trust in the supernatural intelligence who is responsible for the orderly creation and maintenance of the physical world we live in.
One day while meditating on the word Guidance, I realized that it ended in “dance.”
Doing God’s will is a lot like dancing:
When dancing together, if both partners try to lead nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. However, when one person realizes this and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes were drawn back to the word Guidance.
When I saw the first letter, G, I thought of God. It is followed by the letters u and i. “God,” “u” and “i” “dance.” God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life, particularly if I let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God’s blessings and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him,
and He shall direct your path.-Proverbs 3:5-6
Interesting August 2010
As the month of August ends in a short while, here is something to think about this particular month in this particular part of history.
August 2010 has some very interesting facts. It has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tuesdays all in one month. It happens only once in every 823 years.
We are all blessed to witness this because no one among us will witness this again.
One Thing At A Time
We live in a world of tight deadlines and priorities that emerge parallel to each other. We hear of buzzwords such as multitasking, always on always connected. But as we seem to be more efficient in mastering the art of doing more than what is humanly possible, we are slowly digging ourselves in a quicksand of ever-increasing clutter.
Take a reality check. We are not machines. Our brain can only think clearly one thought at a time. When quality counts, focus is required.
This should apply in everything that we do, from the corporate office to our service in the community.
Today, I do one thing at a time. When I do one thing at a time, I can be attentive and I can focus my energy and my effectiveness on the task at hand.
I have come to realize that it is better to do one thing at a time instead of taking on several activities at once. When you run your own business, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the workload involved. The prime quality of any good entrepreneur is establishing priorities and doing one thing at a time, as efficiently as possible. Being effective calls for careful attention. It requires focusing one’s attention and energy on the task at hand. The best strategy is doing one thing at a time.
- Marc Allen
Live Creatively
FREE TO CREATE
Every single item in creation is unique in itself, an expression of creativity and imagination with unlimited borders.
It is a reasonable assumption to think that there is a creator and designer who balances the complex parameters that keep the physical universe go round.
I believe that we are made in the image of God and that because God is a creator, he gave us the special ability to be creators ourselves and we are free to use that gift, for good or for evil, the choice is upto us.
We are given the creative freedom in all aspects of our lives. Even in worship — because we are free — not to. Again the choice is yours.
In Christ, we are set free to create. He sets us free to live — toward God, with people, in the world — as creative artists having our own brand of originality.
He sets us free to use the stuff that God gives us to live something original.
Go ahead, add some colors to our lives, especially the colors that God gave us to make living creations that are pleasing in His sight.
The Law of the Seed
This is a really good one from my Inbox.
Yet another powerful message worth sharing.
It helps us look at the physical world from a new perspective.
All the best,
The Law of the Seed
Take a look at an apple tree. There might be five hundred apples on the tree and each apple has ten seeds. That’s a lot of seeds!
We might ask, “Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more apple trees?”
Nature has something to teach us here.
It’s telling us:
“Not all seeds grow. In life, most seeds never grow. So if you really want to make something happen, you had better try more than once.”
This might mean:
You’ll attend twenty interviews to get one job.
You’ll interview forty people to find one good employee.
And you might meet a hundred acquaintances just to find one special friend.
When we understand the “Law of the Seed”, we don’t get so disappointed.
We stop feeling like victims.
We learn how to deal with things that happen to us.
Laws of nature are not things to take personally.
We just need to understand them – and work with them.
IN A NUTSHELL
Successful people fail more often. But they plant more seeds.
When things are beyond your control, here’s something that you must
NOT DO so as to avoid misery in your life:
- You must not decide how you think the world SHOULD be.
- You must not make rules for how everyone SHOULD behave.
- Then, when the world doesn’t obey your rules, you get angry!
- That’s what miserable people do!
On the other hand, let’s say you expect that:
-Friends SHOULD return favours.
-People SHOULD appreciate you.
-Planes SHOULD arrive on time.
-Everyone SHOULD be honest.
- Your spouse or best friend SHOULD remember your birthday.
These expectations may sound reasonable. But often, these things won’t happen!
So you end up frustrated and disappointed.
There’s a better strategy:
Demand less, and instead, have preferences!
For things that are beyond your control, tell yourself:
“I would prefer this, but if that happens, it’s OK too!”
This is really a change in mindset. It is a shift in attitude, and it gives you more peace of mind …
You prefer that people are polite … but when they are rude, it doesn’t ruin your day. You prefer sunshine … but if it rains, it is ok too!
To become happier, we either need to:
a) Change the world, or
b) Change our thinking.
It is easier to change our Thinking!
IN A NUTSHELL
It is not the problem that is the issue, but rather it is your attitude attending to the problem that is the problem.
It’s not what happens to you that determines your happiness.
It’s how you think about what happens to you!
Modern Efficiency
One of the usual challenges in modern life is organizing our schedule and come out productive at the end of the day.
The pattern by which we consistently allocate our energies defines what our priorities really are. It can be our job, family, community, spirituality etc.
More often than not, all else take precedence and put spirituality on the backburner. It is rather sad when you look at it from the greater scheme of things. I myself am guilty of such misgivings.
This article will give some insight to this subject. I hope you like it. It’s very interesting.
SPENDING WISELY
Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:
Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your private account for your use.
However, this prize had rules, just as any game has certain rules.
The first set of rules would be:
Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you.
You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
You may only spend it.
Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.
The second set of rules:
The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, “Its over”, the game is over! It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.
What would you personally do?
You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right?
Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right?
Even for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?
You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?
ACTUALLY, this GAME is REALITY!
Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank.
We just cant seem to see it.
The MAGICAL BANK is TIME!
Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.
What we haven’t lived up that day is forever lost.
Yesterday is forever gone.
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time….
WITHOUT WARNING.
SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?
Aren’t they worth so much more than the same amount in dollars?
Think about that, and always think of this:
Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.
So take care of yourself, and enjoy life!
And spend your time wisely.
Related Article: A Thousand Marbles
Fathers Day 2010
What Makes A Dad
“God took the strength of a mountain, the majesty of a tree, the warmth of a summer sun. The calm of a quiet sea, the generous soul of nature, the comforting arm of night, the wisdom of the ages, the power of eagles flight. The joy of morning in spring, the faith of a mustard seed, the patience of eternity, the depth of a family’s need. Then God combined these qualities, when there was nothing more to add, He knew his masterpiece was complete… and so He called it Dad.”
This article was given to me by Marian, my youngest, for this occasion. Sweet …!
Happy Fathers Day to All!