H E L P ME!

Matthew 5:41

Suppose someone forces you to go one mile. Go two miles with him.

Matthew 5:42

"Give to the one who asks you for something. Don't turn away from the one who wants to borrow something from you.

The patient is not moving. The wound is open and carefully the surgeon removes the broken heart and as he is nearly finished the patient’s nose glows red and the room explodes with a “BUZZ”!!! It is the sound no one wants to hear! Be glad it’s only the game of Operation! The surgeon is your dad! The patient, Cavity Sam, is just a piece of cardboard on top of a silly box with a current running through its metal parts. It is fun even though it is not very easy.

There are several internal ailments that may have to be removed to gain points to win the game. A broken heart (100 points), butterflies in the stomach (100 points), writer’s cramp (200 points) and bread basket (1000 points). When physical hurts are in a game it is fun. When they happen in real life it could be painful. If it happens to a friend or family member it could be scary.

Sometimes when a friend is going through a physical trial we don’t know what to do or what to say. We all know someone right now that does not feel good. Maybe they had surgery like Cavity Sam. Maybe they have lost a job and have become depressed. Perhaps they are involved with a divorce. Daily there are so many wounds to our soul.

Be an encourager today. You have probably thought about someone while reading this that could use some encouragement.

What can you do?

*Hand write a note. Send it in the mail…have we forgotten how to do that?

*Call them on the phone so they can hear your voice and you can hear theirs.

*Bring them a meal, bake some cookies, bring a bag of groceries

*Watch their children at your house so they can have an hour to do whatever they want

*Wash the car of an older adult

*Walk next door or down the street and mow someone’s grass

PAY IT FORWARD

What can you say?

Psalm 86:5-The Lord is forgiving and good abounding in love
Psalm 100:5-The LORD is good and his love endures forever; He is faithful

Psalm 106:1-Give thanks to the LORD

James 4:10- The Lord will lift you up.

Matthew 5:4-God will comfort you.

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In my Chutes and Ladders post, I got a comment from a friend that she did not know the game and would not purchase it for her children when they were small because she thought there were a lot of parts. So, in case there are followers that are not familiar with How to Play Operation, Here are the rules copied from Wikipedia-

In "Operation" there are two sets of cards: Doctor and Specialist cards. The Specialist cards are dealt out evenly amongst the players at the beginning of the game.
Players take turns to pick Doctor cards, which offer a cash payment for removing a particular ailment, using a pair of tweezers connected with wire to the board. If a player successfully removes the ailment they collect the amount shown on their card. However, if the tweezers touch the metal edge of the opening during the attempt (closing the circuit), a buzzer sounds, the patient's nose lights up red, and the player loses their turn. The player holding the Specialist card for that piece then has a try, getting double the fee if they succeed. Since there are times when the player drawing a certain Doctor card also holds the matching Specialist card, s/he can be tempted to purposely botch the first attempt, in order to succeed on the second try, for double value.
The winner is the player with the most money after all the pieces have been extracted.
The game can be difficult, due to the shapes of the plastic ailments, and the fact the openings are scarcely larger than the ailments themselves.

Mr Potato Head

Mr Potato Head

Proverbs 15:13
A happy heart makes a face look cheerful. But a sad heart produces a broken spirit.

“The eyes are the mirror of the soul” is a famous saying. If you are really interested in how someone is feeling you will be able to see in their eyes whether they are excited, fearful, sad or happy. By looking at someone’s eyes you can really see what they are feeling. Sometimes they say they are ok but you see in their facial expression that they are not ok. Sometimes friends want to hold you in suspense by holding back the excitement inside of them but you can tell by their expression that they are not telling you some good information.

God created us emotional creatures. We feel sadness, joy, excitement and embarrassment. He knows what we are feeling even when we try to hide it. Sometimes we try to hide it from those around us but if we are around those who know us well, it is pretty hard to hide our feelings.

Think about Mr. Potato Head. He surely can not hide his feelings. When you take his mouth and put it in as a smile, he looks happy. When you take the mouth and put it in upside down, it creates a frown and he looks sad. Be aware of people’s eyes and facial expressions. Sometimes they may be telling you something without even using words.

When you feel down remember that God is always with you and He is available to you. Call to Him. Share your feelings and thoughts with Him. After all, like Mr. Potato Head, we can not hide our feelings from God. He already knows what we are thinking. He also has the answers to all of our fears. He has the words to comfort our hurts and He has the knowledge to encourage us when we are going strong. God is our all in all!

Etch A Sketch

Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be.”

Up and down or side to side, the two white knobs on the Etch a sketch are the only parts that move. It has not changed much over the years. You don’t need batteries or even electricity. The magic screen upon which your drawings appear is glass, covered with clear plastic film. Inside, aluminum powder and plastic beads respond to each turn of the knob. The left and right knobs control the rods inside, moving the stylus where the two meet.  When the stylus moves, it scrapes the screen leaving the line you see.

Those who have talent and patience enough can spend hours moving those two knobs creating a beautiful portrait or heavenly landscape. But, one little shake of the Etch a sketch in the wrong direction and the entire picture will be destroyed, or disappear. In a moment, what has taken hours and skill to produce is wiped away. But, not to fear, the slate is clean again and you can start over.

God created our surroundings by speaking them into existence. He used a rainbow of colors for his landscape on Earth. He made every detail unique. Then one day, He shook the earth. He made the rain cover and destroy everything. All that He saw as good and beautiful was destroyed. But, He allowed Noah and his family to survive and God started a new portrait.

Some day soon, this Earth will again shake. God will take his people to heaven and things that we had on our Earthly Etch a sketch will be wiped away. Nothing sad, nothing that makes us cry or causes us pain will ever appear again. We will see things we have never seen before. And we will be in awe of the sight before us. Forever, only things that make us smile and laugh will be with us in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ

Chutes and Ladders

James 1:2-3

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Fourth grade was probably my favorite year in school. I had Mr. Siberski, the coolest teacher EVER! We went on tons of field trips and we played a lot of made up games but what I remember most is recess.

We would run outside as quickly as possible to get a swing. We played kickball and hung from the monkey bars. And then there were other days we lined up to use the slide. One after another we climbed the ladder, got seated at the top and when the way was clear we slid down.

Someone else must have liked the slide because they created the game Chutes and Ladders.

Think about it. Life is a little like Chutes and Ladders. Sometimes you go up and other times you are down. When you play the game, it doesn’t stop when you go down a chute. You keep going. And if you happen to get the tallest ladder it doesn’t mean you’ve won and you can quit.  You have to keep going. You may encounter a Chute after you thought you were going to win but the ups and downs are the point of the game.

God allows us to experience ups and downs too. He does not expect us to stop when we are “up” or quit when we are “down”. Just keep going. He will bring you through it all. God knows where you are, He knows where you are headed and He is not going to let you go. He is with you all the way!

JUMP ROPE

Jump Rope

Psalm 28:7
The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe. My heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart jumps for joy. I will sing and give thanks to him.

Picture this…the weather is perfect, not too hot, and not too cold. Sun is shining. Two of your friends are over and you are sitting in the driveway thinking about something to do. You go to the garage and find a jump rope. In an instant you and your friends are twirling the rope and jumping reciting-

“Down in the valley where the green grass grows,
There sat Sally sweet as a rose.
She sang, she sang, she sang so sweet,

Along came Johnny and kissed her on the cheek,
How many kisses did she get this week?”

1…2…3…4…5…6…and you miss, and laugh! You switch places and your friend now jumps to the same rhyme, as you begin to twirl the rope. It is a good time for exercise, laughing and becoming friends.

The Bible tells us that God enjoys being with us. He loves when we are spending time with Him. He knows every hair on our head and He wants us to be joyful.  

Read today’s verse again and remember today that God loves you. The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe. My heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart jumps for joy. I will sing and give thanks to him.