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Hours of Operation
The
Child Care Center
is designed for children between the ages of
2 to 5.
We are
open
Monday - Friday from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For more information about our facility,
please call us at
(941) 484-4415.
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A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One
day a small opening appeared. He
sat
and
watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force
its body
through
that little
hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could
go no further. So the
man
decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the
remaining
bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had
a swollen
body and
small,
shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly
because
he expected
that, at
any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able
to
support the
body, which
would contract in time. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling
around with a swollen body
and
shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his
kindness and
haste, did
not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle
required
for the butterfly
to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid
from
the body of the
butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight
once it
achieved its freedom
from the cocoon.~ Author Unknown ~
Sometimes
struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
If God
allowed
us to go through our lives without any obstacles,
it would
cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could
have
been.
We could never fly! |
The Cracked Pot
A Water Bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end
of a pole
which
he carried across his neck. One of the pots had
a crack in it, while the
other pot
was perfect and always
delivered a full portion of water at the end
of the long walk from the stream to the masters
house, the cracked pot arrived
only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer
delivering only one and
a half
pot’s full
of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was
proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it
was made. But
the poor cracked
pot was ashamed of it’s own
imperfection, and miserable
that it was able to
accomplish only
half of what it had been made
to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it
spoke to the water-
bearer
one
day by the stream. I am ashamed of myself, and I want to
apologize
to you. “Why?”
asked
the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?” I have been able,
for
these past two
years, to deliver only half my load because this
crack in my side
causes water to leak
out all the way back to
your master’s house. Because of my
flaws, you have to do all
of
this work, and you don’t get
the full value from your
efforts,” the pot said.
The Water Bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot and in his
compassion he said,
“As we
return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful
flowers along
the path.” Indeed,
as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the
sun
warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path
and this cheered it some.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had
leaked out half of its load,
and
so
again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer
said to the pot,
“Did you
notice
that there were flowers only on your side of the path but not on
the
other pot’s
side? That’s because I have always known about
your flaw and I took
advantage of it.
I planted flower
seeds on your side of the path and everyday while
we walked back
from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been
able to pick these
beautiful flowers to decorate
my master’s table. Without you
being just the way you
are, he
would not have this beauty
to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But
if we will allow
it,
the Lord
will use our flaws to grace His father’s table. In God’s great
economy,
nothing
goes to waste.
So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls
you to
the
tasks He has appointed for you, don’t be afraid of your
flaws. Acknowledge
them, and
allow Him to take advantage
of them, and you too, can be the cause of
great beauty in
His
pathway.
We are all Cracked Pots in our own special way and we do not
always realize the
joy we
bring to others. We do have an obligation to share our goodness
so others
may benefit
from it whether it is small or large.
~ Author Unknown ~ |
The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he
dropped to his
knees in prayer. “Lord, I can’t go on,” he said. “I have too
heavy a cross to bear." |
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Cross by Dan Clem
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The Lord replied, “My son, if you can’t
bear its weight just place your cross inside
this room. Then, open that door and pick out any cross you wish.” The
man was
filled with
relief. “Thank you, Lord,” he sighed, and he did as he was told.
Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large
the tops were
not
visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far
wall. “I’d like that one,
Lord,”
he whispered. And the Lord replied, “My son that is the cross
you just brought
in.” |
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~ Author Unknown ~
When life’s problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around
and
see what other
people are coping with. You may consider
yourself far more
fortunate than you imagined.
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The Dart Assignment
A young lady named Sally, relates an
experience she had in a seminary class,
given by her teacher,
who we’ll call Brother Smith. She says Brother Smith was
known
for his elaborate
object lessons.
One particular day, Sally walked into seminary and knew they
were in for another
fun day.
On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many
darts.
Brother Smith told
the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked
or
someone who had made
them angry -- and he would allow them to throw darts
at the
person’s picture.
Sally’s girlfriend, on her right, drew a picture of a girl who
had stolen her boyfriend.
Another
friend, on her left, drew a picture of his little brother. Sally
drew a picture
of Brother Smith,
putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing
pimples on his face. Sally was pleased at the overall effect she
had achieved.
The class lined up and began throwing darts, with much laughter
and hilarity. Some
of the students threw their darts with such
force that their targets were ripping apart.
Sally looked
forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when
Brother
Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to
return to their seats.
As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn’t
have a chance
to throw
any darts at her target, Brother Smith began removing the target
from the
wall. Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus.
A complete hush fell over the room as each student viewed the
mangled picture
of Jesus;
holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were
pierced out.
Brother Smith said only these words, “Inasmuch as you did it to
one of the least of
these
My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
No other words were necessary; the tear-filled eyes of each
student focused only
on the
picture of Jesus. The students remained in their seats even
after the bell
rang -- then
slowly left the classroom, tears streaming down their faces.
~ Author Unknown ~ |
The Devil’s Convention
Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to
his evil angels,
he said,
“We can’t keep the Christians from going to church. We can’t
keep them
from reading
their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from
conservative values.
But we can do something else. We can keep them from
forming an
intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they
gain that
connection with Jesus, our power
over them is broken.
So let them go to church, let them have their conservative
lifestyles, but steal their
time,
so they can’t gain that experience in Jesus Christ. This is what
I want you to
do angels.
Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining
that
vital connection
throughout their day!” “How shall we do this?” shouted his
angels.
“Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent
unnumbered schemes to
occupy
their minds,” he answered. “Tempt them to spend, spend, spend,
then
borrow, borrow,
borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the
husbands to work 6 or
7 days a week, 10 - 12 hours a day, so they can afford their
lifestyles. Keep them from
spending time with their children. As their family fragments,
soon, their homes will offer
no escape from the pressures of work.”
“Over stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still
small voice. Entice
them
to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to
keep the TV, VCR,
CDs
and their PCs going constantly in their homes. And see to it
that every store
and
restaurant in the world plays non-biblical, contradicting music
constantly. This
will
jam their minds and break that union with Christ.” “Fill their
coffee tables with
magazines
and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.
Invade their driving
moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail,
sweepstakes, mail order catalogs, and every kind of newsletter
and promotional
offering free products, services,
and false hopes.”
“Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them
return from their
recreation exhausted, disquieted, and
unprepared for the coming week. Don’t
let them go out in
nature to reflect on God’s wonders. Send them to Amusement
parks, sporting events,
concerts, and movies instead. And when they meet for
spiritual
fellowship, involve
them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with
troubled
consciences and
unsettled emotion. Let them be involved in soul-winning.”
“But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no
time to seek power
from
Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength,
sacrificing their health
and family for the good of the cause.” It was quite a convention in the
end. And the
evil angels went
eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to
get busy, busy, busy and
rush here and there.
Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge.
How about this
definition
of Busy: B-being U-under S-Satan’s Y-yoke. Satan’s goal is to
take our
minds and hearts
off Christ then steer us toward the cares of the world. God
wants
us to enjoy life but He
must be first. If we are too busy for God, then we are too busy.
~ Author Unknown ~ |
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