"The Cheerleaders"

“The Cheerleaders”

 

 

Johnny was really excited.  He was going to his very first, live, football game with his Dad.

Johnny’s dad was a BIG football fan and Johnny wanted to be one too.  So Johnny and his dad went to a football game one Friday evening.  Johnny couldn’t believe his big brown eyes, as he took in all the sights and all the people.

Johnny and his dad found their seats and soon the game started, and the crowd roared as the teams came onto the field.  The noise of the crowd hurt Johnny’s ears, so he covered them with his hands. But that didn’t help a whole lot, because every time one of the players got the football and started to run everyone would clap their hands and yell; “GO! GO! GO!”  It was VERY noisy, and Johnny wasn’t too sure he liked being at the game.  He thought he would like it better if he watched it on the television. 

After the game and on their way home, Johnny’s dad asked Johnny how he liked the game. 

“Well I guess it was ok, but my ears are hurting because of all the yelling and clapping.  Why do the people have to clap and yell so loud?”  Johnny asked.

“They were cheering their team’s players so they would run faster and make a touchdown.  So they could WIN the game.”  Johnny’s dad replied.

“You know Johnny, you and I have people cheering and clapping for us too.”  His dad said.

“We do?”  Johnny asked in amazement. 

“Sure we do, the Bible tells us that ‘we have a great crowd of people in Heaven watching us as we run our race.’ Dad replied.

“Run a race, I’m not running a race!”  Johnny exclaimed.

“Well the race we run is when we live for God, then the people in Heaven cheer us on.  So we’ll not stop, but keep on living for God.”  His Dad said

“But Dad, how come I can’t hear them?”  Johnny asked.

“Well they’re in Heaven and we’re here on earth.  But you can believe they are cheering you on, because the Bible tells us so.”  His dad said, smiling at him.

“Well at least their cheering DON’T hurt my ears!”  Johnny exclaimed.

 

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us.  Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.”--------Hebrews 12:1

 

 

"What Really Matters!"

“What Really Matters!” 

 

 

Allie was eight years old, and she was an only child, she didn’t have any brothers or sisters.  One day Allie’s mom told her they would be moving to another state and she would be leaving her friends, but she would make new friends.  Allie wasn’t happy about the news.

When they moved and got settled, Allie’s mom took her to her ‘new’ school.  Now Allie had thought and thought about how she could make new friends.  She came up with what she thought was a great idea.  She would tell everybody how good she was at everything and they would always want her on their team, and always want her to be their friend.  So that was exactly what she did, but it didn’t exactly turn out the way she thought it would.

Allie was always wanting to be FIRST in EVERYTHING, and even though she told them she could do EVERYTHING, they quickly found out that she couldn’t do EVERYTHING.  So whenever the kids were playing games, and saw Allie coming, they would run away from her, and instead of her having lots of friends, she had NO friends.

On her birthday, Allie’s mom planned a big party with lots of food, games and Allie’s favorite birthday cake, a yellow cake with a sweet, yummy, milk chocolate frosting. 

So Allie handed out invitations to all of her classmates, but nobody came to her party.  Allie was so sad, she cried and cried.  “Nobody likes me!”  Even after I told them how good I am at EVERYTHING, they don’t even want to be my friend!”  She cried.  Allie’s mom hugged Allie, “You know Allie, you are good at doing somethings, but NOBODY is good at doing EVERYTHING!  God has made us all with different abilities.  Some can run faster than others, some can throw a ball farther than others, some can sing better, some are better at drawing pictures than others.  We are all different, because that’s the way God made us and wants us to be.  I think if you go back to school and be yourself, and don’t brag about being better than anyone else, before long you’ll have lots of friends.” Her mom said. 

So Allie took her mom’s advice and some things Allie was good at and some things she wasn’t so good at.  But Allie was happy being just the way God wanted her to be, and she ended up with lots of good friends.

 

Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s workmanship.  Created to do the good works that God has prepared for us to do.”

"Refuge in the Storm"

“Refuge in the Storm”

 

 

It was a beautiful, warm, spring Saturday morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing.  It was the perfect day for a bike ride to the park.  So Sally called her best friend, Marcie and asked if she wanted to ride her bike to the park.

“Sure, I’ll be at your house in ten minutes.”  Marcie replied.

The girls got on their bikes and rode to the park.  They played around for a good while, when Sally noticed a big, black, angry-looking cloud rolling up from the horizon.  The wind started to pick up. 

So Sally said to Marcie, “We better head to my house, look at that cloud!” 

The girls quickly got on their bikes and started home, but by the time they got to the edge of town, the storm was moving fast and the wind was so strong, they could hardly stay on their bikes. 

Now Sally’s Aunt owned a little diner right on the edge of town and when she saw the girls struggling in the wind, she opened the door, holding it tight in the strong wind, and she yelled out to the girls, “Sally, you and Marcie come in here, NOW!”  The girls quickly got off their bikes and ran into the diner.

“I’ll call your moms and let them know you are with me.”  “Come on, let’s go into the cooler, till the storm passes, I don’t like the looks of it.” She said.

So Sally, Marcie, Aunt Rose, and the waitress, Angie all quickly went into the cooler.  It was cold, but they would be safe.  Angie was trembling with fear, and she began to cry.  Marcie walked over to her and took her hand and said;

“Angie, it’s going to be ok, God is right here with us, ya know how I know that?  I just learned a new Bible verse, it says; “The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name. So God will take care of us.  That’s a promise and God don’t break promises.”

Then Marcie and Angie started talking about their dogs and after about fifteen minutes in the cooler, Sally’s Aunt said; “Ok, I think it’s safe to go out. “

When they went back out to the front of the diner, they saw glass from the broken windows all over the floor with bits of tree limbs and lots of water from the rain.  But at least, they were all safe and that’s what mattered.

Aunt Rose had made some of Sally’s and Marcie’s favorite, big, round, melt-in-your-mouth, snicker-doodle cookies, just before the storm hit.  So she fixed them some hot chocolate to help warm them up and gave them a couple of the big, round, melt-in-your-mouth, snicker-doodle cookies, while she and Angie carefully cleaned up the mess.  Then she loaded up the girls’ bikes and took them home, safe and sound.

 

 

"The Monster on the Prairie"

“The Monster on the Prairie”

 

 

This story takes place many, many, years ago.  Jen and her little sister Allie lived out in the mid-west, in the state of Kansas.  They lived with their Mom, Dad, and a little shaggy dog named Patches.  They lived on a small farm in the middle of the prairie. 

They had a huge, green yard to play in, and after school had ended and all their chores were done they played in that huge, green yard, with Patches till supper time.

 

One bright sunshiny morning, Jen and Allie’s dad hitched the team of horses, up to the wagon, to make a trip, across the wide prairie and into a small town for supplies.  Jen and Allie always looked forward to his trips, because he would always bring them something back, usually it was something they really liked and didn’t get to have very often.

 

The girls got their morning chores done and ate their breakfasts, then it was off to school.  Later that afternoon, on their way home, Jen and Allie were greeted by Patches, running and jumping all around them.  When they got home they quickly changed into their work clothes and did a few more chores.  Then when all the chores were done they had play-time with Patches.

 

After a while, Jen noticed a huge, black cloud that looked like a big, angry monster coming across the prairie.  It looked like it was boiling so Jen ran to the barn, and yelled in the door.  “Mom, come quick!”  Her Mom came out of the barn with a fearful look in her eyes. 

The wind began to blow, then Jen and her Mom heard the fearful sound of roaring in their ears.  Jen’s mom looked at her and yelled, “Quick, get Allie and Patches and head for the cellar!”   

Jen ran and grabbed Allie’s hand and called for Patches to come!  They ran to the cellar with Mom running behind, them.  Their hearts were pounding with fear.  Jen’s mom quickly pulled on the two big doors, trying to close and latch them, but the wind kept blowing them out of her hands, finally she managed to get them shut and latched.

 

By now, Allie had begun to cry.  Jen was sniffling a little too.  The cellar was really small, cold and dark, really dark.  Mom sat down on the bottom step and held both girls tight in her arms, and began to sing, “Jesus loves Me!”  Allie began to sing along with her and soon Jen joined in.  Then Mom stopped and said to the girls. “Jesus is right here with us, we don’t have to be afraid.  I know a verse from the Bible that says; “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you ……..Isa. 41:10. 

All three of them repeated the verse over and over.  Then Jen’s mom noticed the roar was gone so she carefully opened the doors of the cellar and the bright sunlight came shining into the darkness. 

When they came out of the cellar, they noticed a few small trees had been pulled up and two shutters from the windows of the house were blown off, but it appeared that everything else was in good shape.  

After cleaning up a bit, Jen and Allie noticed that a wagon was coming across the prairie.  Their hearts were filled with joy and they began to jump up and down, giggling.  They couldn’t wait so off they ran to meet their Dad.   

When he got to the house, he opened a brown paper bag and pulled out two, sweet, brightly colored, sugar sticks.  And that night when they got ready for bed, they all held hands and their Dad prayed:  “Thank you Lord, for keeping my family safe and helping them to not be too afraid during that horrible monster storm.  Amen!”

 

 

Frogs Everywhere!

Frogs Everywhere!

 

 

Sam was all boy.  He liked doing what all eight year old boys liked to do.  One of the things that Sam really liked to do was to watch, and sometimes catch some of God’s outdoor creatures; like bugs and frogs.

One day, Sam was playing outside, when he saw a BIG bull frog sitting on one of the big flat rocks that lined his mom’s flower bed. Well after a little bit of a chase through the backyard, Sam finally caught the BIG bull frog, and he ran into the house carrying the BIG, fat bull frog with both hands.

“Mom, come quick, look what I got!”  Sam yelled.  His mom came into the kitchen.  “Oh Sam, that’s a real beauty.  What are you going to name him?”  She asked. 

“I think I’ll call him Oscar!  Sam replied. 

“That’s a good name, you know Sam, Oscar really belongs outside, where he can eat the flies whenever he wants, and he’ll live longer outside, and you can see him when you go out to play.”  Mom said.

Sam thought about it and decided that Mom was right.  So he took Oscar back outside and let him go.   

“You know Sam, Oscar reminds me of a Bible story.   Once a long time ago, God told a man named Moses to go to the King of Egypt and tell him to let the people of Israel go, you see they were the king’s slaves, and God wanted them to be able to worship Him. 

So Moses went to the king, but the king said, “NO!”  So God sent hundreds and hundreds of frogs all over Egypt.  There were BIG frogs, MEDIUM frogs, and LITTLE frogs. 

There were frogs swinging on lamps in the air.  There were frogs on the pillows and under the beds, on their heads, and in their hair, they were EVERYWHERE!  In their clothes and sitting on their nose.  They were on the tables and in the chairs, they were EVERYWHERE. And NEVER once missed a meal, I declare they were EVERYWHERE!”

But the king would not give in and let the people go.  So Moses went away doing the ONLY thing he could do.  He F-ully, R-elied on God!

“Wow!  That was really a neat story, Mom.” Sam said.

“Yes Sam, and it actually happened. “ Mom replied.

“What happened to the people of Israel?”  Sam asked.

“Well, I guess you could say God rescued them from the king.  So Sam, whenever you have a problem or need help you can do like Moses and the people of Israel:

Fully

Rely

On

God!  Mom said with a smile.