Feel Like Counting?

"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5

Have you ever tried to count the wonders of God? I dare you to try. Think of the wonders He has done in your life and others, whether they were answers to prayer or simple everyday blessings. Consider creation and its beauty. Think about the majestic mountains, vast oceans, and every living creature. Think about His creation of you and what He has planned for you. Don't forget the many wonders we read of in the Bible, from the parting of the Red Sea and healing of the blind, to all of the amazing promises of God. Most of all, remember what He did for us through Jesus. Because Christ died for us and rose again, we can receive forgiveness of sins and new life in Him! How wonderful!

Happy Mother's Day

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31:28-31

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers (even though I'm a little late in posting this)! Thank you for all your hard work in raising your children. I know it isn't always easy, and we children don't always seem very grateful at the time. Thank you for your unconditional love, which leads us to Christ's love that is even greater. I especially want to thank my mom, who is always there when I need her. Seven kids is quite a bunch, and she loves us all very much. She faithfully teaches us to love Christ and each other. I also want to thank my grandma, who set the example for my mom, as Lois and Eunice did for Timothy in the Bible. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:5,

"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."

I also want to thank any women who may not necessarily be mothers, but have cared for someone in a motherly sort of way. I have many "adopted" grandmas who have played a big part in who I am now.

For those of you who aren't mothers, I want to remind you to share the love that your mother has shared with you. It's a hurting world out there, and it could use a lot of love.

The Best Games Ever

Do you remember any games you made up as a child? Some of the best times I ever had when I was little was when we played games we had made ourselves. We had so much more fun playing our own things such as "Paper men" or "Sea Saucy," than we ever did playing with games and toys from the store. No matter how hard people may try, they can never sell anything that beats the fun of our games. Of course, if we went back and played them now, they wouldn't be as much fun, but then they were a blast. Half the fun was creating the games.

"Run from Cars" was the church kids' classic. The game is basically explained in the name. When we saw a car coming down the street that passed the church building, we would all run to the steps before the car passed us. Now if we decided to be really brave, we would run from one tree in the yard to the other and then back to the steps. If the car passed us when we weren't on the steps, then we were "run over" and we had to go recover in the "hospital." Occasionally we would add in some new rules, but that was the main way we played.

Another church kids' classic was "Sea Saucy." It was about as weird as it sounds. One person was chosen to be the "Sea Saucy." He would live in the area of the building designated as the "sea." Everyone else would go to the area designated as the "beach." Then they would count to ten to let the sea saucy hide. After counting, they would try to enter the sea and get back to the beach without getting caught by the sea saucy. If someone got caught, they were the sea saucy. There was also a rule that if we said "sea saucy," the sea saucy could come onto the beach for a short period of time.

Another game we often played was making skits and acting them out for the adults. Batman, Scooby Doo, and even the Christmas story was acted out. We especially did this at my grandparent's house with all of the cousins. Eventually, however, I believe the adults got annoyed with skit after skit.

Finally, the last game I will mention, and one of my favorites, was "Paper men." Somehow we got into creating and drawing little characters on paper, and then drawing houses and castles for them. We would then cut the people out and play with them in our homes we had made for them. I loved creating stories, so I created almost all of my characters. Often we would have what we called "blow battles." In "blow battles," we grouped our people into two armies. Next we would all blow on the poor little paper people. Any of the people who were flipped over were considered dead or wounded, and the ones that were still face up would continue on to the next round. Who needs those little plastic army men? Paper people work wonderfully.

In conclusion, I just want to encourage parents out there to encourage their kids to be creative. Computers and game systems can be good things, but using their minds to create their own games can be just as fun and more so (and definitely cheaper).