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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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Sunday School Lessons
Part 1 |
A Bag of Potatoes
One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag
and a sack of
potatoes to
class. For every person we’d refuse to forgive in our life
experience,
we were told to choose
a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the
plastic bag. Some of our bags, as
you can imagine, were quite heavy. We were
then told to carry
this bag with us everywhere
for one week, putting it beside our
bed at night, on the car
seat when driving, and next to
our desk at work.
The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a
weight we were
carrying
spiritually, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time
to not forget,
and keep leaving
it in embarrassing places. Naturally, the condition of the
potatoes
deteriorated to a nasty
slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for
keeping our pain and heavy
negativity! Too often we think of forgiveness as a
gift to the
other person, and it clearly is
for ourselves! So the next time you decide
you can’t forgive
someone, ask yourself -- isn’t
MY bag heavy enough?
~ Author Unknown ~ |
Catch of a Lifetime
He was 11years old and went fishing every chance he got from the
dock at his
family’s
cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake. On the
day
before bass season opened, he and his father were fishing
early in the evening,
catching sunfish and perch with worms.
Then he tied on a small silver lure and
practiced casting. The
lure struck the water
and caused colored ripples in the
sunset, then silver ripples as
the moon rose over the lake.
When his pole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the
other end. His
father
watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish
alongside the
dock. Finally
he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It
was the
largest one he had
ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills
playing back and forth
in the
moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It
was 10 p.m. - two
hours before
the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.
“You’ll have
to put it back, son,”
he said. “Dad!” cried the boy. “There will be other fish,” said
his
father. “Not as big as this
one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other
fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He
looked again at
his father.
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know
what time he
caught the
fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father’s voice
that the decision
was not negotiable.
He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and
lowered it into the black water.
The creature swished its powerful body and
disappeared. The boy
suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect
in New York City.
His
father’s cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the
lake. He takes his
own son
and daughters fishing from the same dock. And he was right. He
has never
again caught
such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long
ago. But
he does see that
same fish - again and again - every time he comes up against
a
question of ethics. For,
as his father taught him, ethics are simple matters of
right and
wrong. It is only the practice
of ethics that is difficult.
Do we do right when no one is looking? Do we refuse to cut
corners to get the
design in
on time? Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we
know
we aren’t supposed
to have? We would if we were taught to put the fish back when
we
were young. For we would
have learned the truth.
The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory.
It is a story we will
proudly
tell our friends and grandchildren. Not about how we had a
chance to beat
the system and
took it, but about how we did the right thing and were forever
strengthened.
~ James P. Lenfestey ~ |
I Am the Clay
The Bible says that God is the potter and I am the clay and I
picture myself as a
lump of
dry clay. The potter gently picks me up with his warm, strong
hands. He
adds drops of
water, to make me flexible and easier to work with. Then, after
I
am of the correct texture,
the potter lifts me higher... higher... and then PLOP!
He throws
me down hard to remove
all of my air bubbles and flaws.
Next he puts me on the wheel and I turn and turn. He shapes me
exactly as he
wants me,
pushing and molding me. Sometimes the pushing hurts, but I know
that when he is finished,
I will be a beautiful creation. All of this pain, this turning
in circles, will be worth it!
As the potter pulls and stretches, I start to take on the shape
he wants me to be.
And when
the potter has me as he wants me, he places me in the kiln to be
fired...
“It’s hot in here!”
Now my time in the kiln is done. “Hurry potter, take me out of
here!
But no, He knows that
if I cool too fast I’ll crack. He knows what he is doing!
Now it’s time... the potter reaches into the kiln and gently
lifts me out. I’m solid,
strong
and stable. My walls are perfect and I have no flaws. The potter
uses a
glaze to make
me beautiful both inside and out. All that I have been through
--
being thrown onto the
table, the monotony of going round and round on the
wheel, the
force of his hands, the
heat in the kiln -- has been worth it! The
potter has made
something wonderfully special!
Isaiah
64:8
O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
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Lessons about Life
1
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I
got to know a
little girl
named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her
only chance of
recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year
old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the
antibodies needed
to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and
asked the little boy
if he
would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him
hesitate for only
a moment
before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do it if it
will save
her.”
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister
and smiled, as we
all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew
pale and his
smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,
“Will
I start to die right
away?” Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor;
he thought he was
going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to
save
her.
You see understanding and attitude,
after all, is everything you have.
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2
During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us
a pop quiz.
I was a conscientious student and had breezed
through the questions, until I
read the last one:
“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”
Surely this was some kind
of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times.
She was
tall, dark-haired and in
her 50s, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just
before class ended,
one student asked if the last question would
count toward our quiz grade.
“Absolutely,” said the professor.
“In your careers, you will meet many people.
All are
significant. They deserve your attention
and care, even if all you do is
smile and say ‘hello’.” “I’ve
never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her
name was Mary.”
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3
Always remember those who serve you. In the days when an ice
cream sundae
cost much
less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a
table.
A waitress put a
glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream
sundae?”
he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The
little boy pulled his hand out of his
pocket and studied the
coins
in it. “Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?”
he
inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was
growing impatient.
“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.” The little boy
again counted his coins.
“I’ll have
the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice
cream, put the
bill on the table
and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the
cashier
and left. When the
waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
table. There, placed neatly
beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.
You see, he couldn’t have the
sundae,
because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
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4
Once a king had a great highway built for the members of his
kingdom. After it was
completed, but before it was opened to the public, the king
decided to have a contest.
He invited as many as desired to participate. Their challenge
was to see who could
travel the highway the best.
On the day of the contest the people came. Some of them had fine
chariots, some
had
fine clothing, fine hairdos, or great food. Some young men came
in their track
clothes
and ran along the highway. People traveled the highway all day,
but each
one, when he
arrived at the end, complained to the king that there was a
large pile
of rocks and debris
left on the road at one spot and this got in their way and
hindered
their travel.
At the end of the day, a lone traveler crossed the finish line
warily and walked over
to the
king. He was tired and dirty, but he addressed the king with
great respect and
handed
him a bag of gold. He explained, “I stopped along the way to
clear a pile of
rocks and
debris that was blocking the road. This bag of gold was under it
all. I want
you to return
it to its rightful owner.” The king replied, “You are the
rightful owner.”
The traveler replied,
“Oh no, this is not mine. I’ve never known such money.” “Oh
yes,” said the king, “you’ve
earned this gold, for you won my contest.”
He who travels the road best is he who
makes the road
smoother for those who will follow. Every obstacle
presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
~ Author Unknown ~ |
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