Aesop's Fable

The Father and His Sons

A FATHER had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the bundle into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it. He next opened the bundle, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons' hands, upon which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words: "My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this bundle, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks."



United We Stand - Divided We Fall

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:16-18

FEAR

"Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it." ~ — Judy Blume (Tiger Eyes)

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

Vacation Bible School

I just spent this past week with a wonderful group of kids at Vacation Bible School. It was amazing! I love being around children and being a part of the process that brings them closer to Jesus. It's a great experience to see their eyes light up when they learn for the first time that they are "priceless" to God!

On Monday we learned about the Egyptians and the Israelites. (Their story is in Exodus.) The following is what the children were taught about each of these groups:

Egyptians
Smart in math and science
Great teachers, schools
Rich
Good soil for farming
Plenty of food
Plants to make paper, baskets, etc

Israelites
Slave
Had to work hard
Lives made bitter
Used by Egyptians

Then we asked the kids which group they would want to belong to? Of course, most wanted to be with the Egyptians... until we told them that the Egyptians worshiped false gods and the Israelites worshiped God.

But how could the Israelites worship God when their lives were so horrible, we asked?



Well, during VBS, we collected money every day for the Joplin, MO tornado victims. On that first day, we asked our class what they were thankful to God for in their lives. Then, we asked them, if they woke up tomorrow morning and a devastating tornado came through our town, would you still have things you would be thankful for to God?

Of course the kids were able to list things like FAMILY, FRIENDS, etc. After we did this exercise, they were able to understand why the Israelites could still be able to love, trust and follow God even in their despair.

What are you thankful for today?


Photo - http://sarabe3.tripod.com/israeliteimages.html

Need or Want?

Remember - The good Lord may not provide us with everything we WANT, but through each of us working together for HIS glory - He supplies us with everything we NEED. Have you been a representative for Christ today?

The Pursuit of Happiness

"The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. But men have attained it. And they have attained it by realizing that happiness does not spring from the procuring of physical or mental pleasure, but from the development of reason and the adjustment of conduct to principles." ~ How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett

Advise for the Slightly Twisted Mind...

I received these gems of advise from a dear friend of mine. I hope you enjoy them...

* Accept the fact 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.

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

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

* Never buy a car you can't push.

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

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

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.



* The second mouse gets the cheese.

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

* 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 make only once.

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

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

I sincerely hope you enjoy all the detours of your life!


Photo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/

All the People...

What if...

What if, when we were growing up, we all had been taught "Jesus Loves the Little Children" the following way? Would the world be a kinder - more accepting - place today?

Jesus loves all the people
Every person in the world
Red and yellow, black and white
Each is precious in His sight
Jesus loves all the people
in the world



We should love all the people
All the people in the world
With our hearts and with our minds
We should each be colorblind
Spreading love to all the people
in the world

It's not too late to teach this version to our children and grandchildren... take the opportunity everyday to spread God's love.

Photo - http://www.desicomments.com/desi/hearts/

Prayer...

"Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts."
— Mother Teresa

Prayer
Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

"Near Living"

Did you ever wonder why it takes a "near death" experience (of yours or someone close to you) to make you realize that you are only "near living"? Life can be so rich, so adventurous, so amazing... and, yet, we tend to go day-to-day just existing.

Our pastor had a "near death" experience while on vacation recently. He shared this ordeal with the congregation last Sunday. It moved many of us to change the way we view our lives and how we live them.

I felt compelled to share his message with you...

True Love

"God made the world for the delight of human beings-- if we could see His goodness everywhere, His concern for us, His awareness of our needs: the phone call we've waited for, the ride we are offered, the letter in the mail, just the little things He does for us throughout the day. As we remember and notice His love for us, we just begin to fall in love with Him because He is so busy with us -- you just can't resist Him. I believe there's no such thing as luck in life, it's God's love, it's His."
— Mother Teresa




Matthew 10:30
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

God Bless America

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." ~ Taken from the Declaration of Independence, this sentence has been called "one of the best-known sentences in the English language" and "the most potent and consequential words in American history".*



Happy 235th Birthday America!

*Wikipedia
Photo - http://photobucket.com/images/usa%20flag/