A lesson on Perseverance – with Samantha
Written by: Rebecca Holsapple

Samantha was sad this cold winter morning. She was going to school without her very best friend Chloe, again. Chloe and her family had moved just out of town and she had to change school after the long break. Since going back to school after New Year, Samantha just wasn’t her happy self.

She gloomily got dressed, not really caring what outfit she put on,brushed her hair and put it up in a ponytail and went downstairs for breakfast. She felt like no one could understand just how upset she was about this change. Mom tried to be sweet; she had been making her favorite foods for weeks now, and had been going out of her way to spend extra time with her forlorn daughter.

Samantha loved her mom so very much but she didn’t feel the loss of her best friend at school any less.

She sat at the kitchen table.

“Hi sweetheart! How are you doing this morning? Isn’t it a nice sunny day today?!”

“I’m fine… I guess it’s nice.”

Samantha’s mom picked up on her unhappy mood right away.

“Oh honey, are you still upset? It’s been over a month and you spent all of yesterday with Chloe after church!”

“I know… but it just made me realize that I miss her even more then I remembered.  It’s so upsetting to have to go through every day at school all alone.”

“Samantha dear, you have other friends, and this makes your time with Chloe even more special.” said mom.

“I guess…” Samantha had a defeated expression on her face. “I don’t feel like I have friends. I do, but they don’t understand me like Chloe does, and they don’t always want to pair up with my like she did.”

“I know this is hard for you, but you need to keep persevering, and you’ll see it will get better with time. Let’s pray before we eat.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your presence in our lives; thank you for always taking care of us. We pray that you be with Samantha today, help her persevere in her studies and her friendships without Chloe there with her. Help her remember you are always with her. Bless this food to our bodies, thank you for always providing. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.”

Samantha and her mom ate breakfast alone as Juliette and Shiloh, Samantha's three year old twin siblings were still asleep.

Once she was done, had rinsed her plate and gone upstairs to brush her teeth and get her book bag, Samantha put on her heavy coat and walked to the bus stop.

Samantha had just walked out the door, and dad went to sit at the table. Mom was putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Mom and Dad had talked a lot about Samantha’s attitude in the last month. Dad asked mom if Samantha was any better that morning. He had been getting ready for work and missed his usually happy- go lucky daughter that morning. Mom told him she was still in a terrible place and she couldn’t believe it was lasting this long.

“I think it’s time we sit down with her and have a long talk.” said Dad. “This had been going on too long.”

“I agree, honey. Let’s do it tonight. “

That evening, Samantha was walking slowly home from the bus stop, her shoulders were sagging and she was dragging her feet. School had been awful. She had eaten lunch all by herself because she had decided a week ago not to be part of the spring play and all her friends were in it and having a practice over lunch. She had been the last one picked in gym class and it had taken a really long time for her to find a partner in science class. She wanted to cry. It just was not fair that her best friend wasn’t there with her.

She walked in the door still sulking to find her mom and dad sitting in the living room waiting for her. They picked up on her mood as soon as she walked in. It was definitely time for this talk.

“Hey sweetie! How was your day?” mom said.

“Not good… it was plain awful really… I don’t think anyone could have possibly had a worse day!”

“Is that right?!” dad asked.

Samantha was about to start rambling all the bad things that happened when she noticed dad picking up the Bible. She knew she was about to get some sort of a lesson.

“Why don’t you take off your coat and sit with us Chloe. I think we need to talk.” said dad.

Chloe did just that and quietly waited to see what her parents had to say.

“Your mom and I understand that you have been going through a tough time lately. And that right now it does seem like the worst thing that has ever happened to you. But we don’t think you are putting it in perspective, and we also don’t think you are having a very good attitude about it.”

Samantha was flabbergasted. She had been feeling so down on her luck that she really hadn’t stopped to think how she was acting was wrong.

“I was thinking about it today, knowing we were going to talk to you tonight, and do you know who came to mind?”

“Who?” said Samantha.

“Job” said dad. “He was one persecuted man. He lost everything he had; he lost his family, all his wealth and got terribly sick.  But you know what, he persevered, he always knew that God was in control of his situation. He said:  “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. “  And do you know what God said of Job, that he was perfect. “

“Really?” Samantha was listening intently.

“Yes, here in James, Chapter 5 verse 11, is says: “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”

“Because Job never gave up on God, never cursed him, persevere in his faith and good attitude, God gave him back everything he had and so much more. Some time we go through trials, they are hard for us but we need to always remember that God is in control.”

“Do you know what the word perseverance means Samantha” asked mom.

“I think so…. “ said Samantha.

“The dictionary’s definition is this: Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Continuance in a state of grace leading finally to a state of glory.

I love the part about it being a state of grace. Were you being very graceful about not having Chloe at school with you anymore?”

“No I wasn’t, not at all. I realize now, I have been moody and upset. I’m so sorry” Samantha had tears in her eyes. She wanted to please God and her parents.

“Oh sweetie, it’s ok. We all go through trials, and have hard times. We just always need to remember to persevere, and keep our eyes on God. He knows what’s good for us, he knows just what we need. The Bible says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Dad gave Samantha a big hug.

“You know what else; God gives us trials, to make us more like him. It builds our character; we learn lessons and more about Him.” said mom.

“I understand. I think I was making things worse for myself because of my attitude." said Samantha. “From now on, I am going to persevere.  Thanks mom, thanks dad! I love you!”

“We love you too! “ Mom gave her a kiss and they all headed to the kitchen for a snack.

The End

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

The importance of Bible Reading- with Chloe
Written by: Rebecca Holsapple

Chloe woke up that morning on the verge of tears. Her family had moved to the next town over during the Christmas break and it was now time to go back to school…a new school. She didn’t know anybody there and was not looking forward to be in a strange new place.

She knew it had to be done so she put on her school uniform a blue and grey plaid skirt and a white button shirt. She went to the bathroom washed her face, brushed her teeth and put some mousse in her curly blond hair. As she was getting ready she was praying that Jesus would be with her today and help her not to cry at school.

She was always very bubbly so when she walked into the kitchen with a very serious demeanor her mom knew she was very nervous about going.

“Oh honey, I am sure everything will go well. I’ll take you to the bus stop this morning and Daddy will be there to pick you up at the end of the day. “

Chloe’s big blue eyes filled up with tears and she couldn’t help but let out a sob. She had made good friends at her old school and she already missed them so much. Her best friend Samantha and she had been in the same class. She had been so excited about moving to their new house she has not taken the time to think about all the different changes it would bring.

Mom came and gave Chloe a hug. They took a moment to pray together and ate breakfast quietly. Mom knew Chloe had a lot on her mind.

As she was grabbing her book bag which was empty at the moment, she decided to grab her Bible. She could read it at recess. Mom handed her her lunch box and they walked to the bus stop together.

The bus got there a minute later and she found an empty seat near the front. She could tell a lot of the kids were wondering who she was, but she didn’t feel like making eye contact or talking right now. She was still too anxious.

When she got to school a nice teacher took her to her classroom and made her feel very comfortable. She took a seat and the girl next to her introduced herself :” Hi! My name is Eliza. What’s yours?”

“Chloe” she said mustering a small smile.

“You must be new!! I’ve never seen you here before! You’ll see it’s a great school! And we are so lucky our teacher is the best teacher in the whole school!! I’ll take you all around! Your hair is so pretty! I think we’ll be great friends! ” Eliza was a bit of a chatter box. Chloe was glad for it, she was still pretty tense but Eliza was quickly putting her at ease.

The first class went really well. She was glad the teacher only made her stand at her seat while she introduced her and didn’t make her go up front. It was English and she was happy to know she was up to date on everything they class had learned. Her stress was fading more and more.

The bell rang, it was time for recess. Chloe puller her Bible out of her back pack and headed outside with everybody else. She found a quiet spot and started reading. The Bible always gave her so much comfort.

Eliza walked up to her a few minutes later and sat down beside her. “ Hey Chloe! What are you reading? I just read the greatest book! Maybe we could trade when you are done!”

“I’m reading the Bible. I'm reading in Psalms right now.” Said Chloe, she was back to being her upbeat self again. “It has so many comforting passages... I was so afraid this morning. I didn’t know what to expect, but God lead me the whole way and I got to meet you and you are so nice. The class is great and so is the teacher.”

Eliza expression had changed a little. She looked almost puzzled. “The Bible….I’ve heard of it of course, but I thought it was for preachers. Not for us…10 year old girls… Isn’t it complicated? Do you actually understand what it says? I’ve heard some from it at my grandma’s church, I wasn’t paying close attention but I didn’t really understand.”

“ Yes, I read it, and understand a lot of it, but when I have questions I ask my parents or sometimes my Sunday school teacher.”

“Wow!” Eliza was speechless. This had to be a first!

“It’s a great help, if I don’t know what to do in different situations, when I need confort, like today. It helps me know God better, know what He wants me to do and how much he loves me.”

“Wow!” Obviously Eliza had never heard of the Bible in those terms.

The bell rang and the girls had to head back inside. Eliza turned to Chloe and said :” You know what!? I want to learn more about the Bible! Will you show me what you do?”

“Of course! I would be happy to! Maybe you could come to my house tomorrow night after school.? Chloe asked.

“I’ll ask my mom tonight when I get home and tell you in the morning if it’s going to work out.” Eliza said.

“Sounds great! I’ll have to make sure my parents are ok with it too, but I would be surprised if they weren’t. They always love to talk about God and the Bible.” Chloe smiled warmly at her new friend.

The rest of the school day went great! Chloe could not believe she had been worried at all. Everybody was so nice and she now was really looking forward to Eliza’s visit tomorrow evening. She prayed it would work out and she could be a witness her.

As Chloe hopped out of the bus, she saw her dad standing by the stop sign waiting for her. She ran quickly and gave him a big hug.

“So how did it go , honey?” said Dad with a grin. He could see just by looking at her that she was past all the worry from that morning Mom had told him about.

“Oh dad, it was great!!! I made a great new friend, her name is Eliza. Everybody was so nice to me and the teacher is awesome! I even got to tell Eliza about God and the Bible. And I hope its okay but I invited her to come over tomorrow after school she says she wants to know more.”

“That’s wonderful Chloe!! I don’t see why it would be a problem; we’ll make sure with your mom over supper. I am so proud of you, already witnessing to someone on your first day at your new school!”

“Oh she isn’t just someone; she is a dear new friend! She is so nice, and so talkative and upbeat!” Chloe said, skipping as they made their way toward the house.

“Sounds like someone else I know…!!” said Dad laughing as he opened the front door of their house.

The next day at school, Eliza and Chloe met by the swings and were both really excited because their parents had said yes! The day drug by a bit for girls because they couldn’t wait until school was over.

At the end of the day Eliza took the school bus with Chloe and they started talking about the Bible some more as they walked toward Chloe’s house from the bus stop.

“So…quiz questions: 3 reasons to read the Bible!”, said Eliza with a mischievous look on her face.

Chloe smiled and said:” 1. To know God better.

                                    2. To understand God’s plan for humanity.

                                    3. To know what to do and how to behave.

“Can you give me examples of that?” said Eliza, genuinely interested.

“ Of course, well first off there are the 10 commandments. God told his people what they shouldn’t do to please Him. So I try to live by those principles every day. Second, I get to find out how much God loves me. He sent His only Son to die on the cross to save me from my sins. If I didn’t read the Bible, I wouldn’t know about that. So I know that if I do bad things , you know, sin in some way, He has forgiven me. Third, I can read all different accounts of people’s lives, what they did in their lifetime, what happen to them. Who God rewarded for acting a certain way, who he punished. I can apply that to my life too.” Chloe could get very excited talking about her beliefs.

“Wow, I never heard anyone talk about the Bible this way…” Eliza said with wonder in her voice.

“You know the way I look at it, the Bible is like a letter that God wrote just for me , for anyone who wants to know Him, really.”  Chloe looked straight at Eliza as they were reaching the front door to her house.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if I want to get to know you more, we need to talk to each other. If we didn’t talk to each other we wouldn’t be very good friends, would we?”

“No, no we wouldn’t.”

“It’s the same thing with God, if we want to get to know Him better, draw closer to Him, we need to talk to him; by prayer and by reading the Bible, his letter to us.”

“I think I understand what you are saying…”

Chloe opened the front door and the house smelled wonderful. Mom had made chocolate chip cookies as an after school snack. The girls hurried to the sink to wash up and joined Chloe’s mom and dad at the table.

Chloe’s mom and dad made Eliza feel very welcomed, they spent the rest of the afternoon and all through supper talking about the different stories of the Bible and the lessons you can learn from them; Jonah running away from God, Daniel being thrown in the lion’s den, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon. Then they talked about the most important one of all, Jesus coming to earth to die on the cross for us. Eliza was so interested that she was sad when the evening was over and her mom came to pick her up.

Chloe invited her to come to her church on Sunday and Eliza said she would make sure to ask her mom.

Before leaving Chloe handed Eliza a present she had made for her. A beautiful vase she has done decoupage on with a verse written on the front. : “Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”

Eliza eyes got teary. “I can’t believe you made this for me!! It’s beautiful! What does the verse mean?”

“It means that we can hide the word of God in our hearts to make sure we live the way He wants us to, because we love Him.” Chloe said reaching to hug her friend goodbye.

“I like that!” said Eliza. “I am so glad I met you Chloe.”

“Me too, Eliza! I’ll see you tomorrow at school!”

“Maybe we can talk more about the Bible and God then…”

“Of course! He is my favorite subject of conversation!” Chloe closed the door after waving her friend off. 

She bowed her head and said a quiet prayer of thanks to God. Thanking Him for sending him a wonderful new friend and thanking Him for his letter to her and praying that she never take it for granted.

The End

Addison and her beautiful long hair.
Written by: Rebecca Holsapple

It was a beautiful autumn day; Addison was looking out the window to the beautiful sunshine and all the leaves changing colors. It was the first day of the third week of school. She was excited about going more then she had been in quite some time, because today was a special day.

Addison was going to go in front of the whole school along with the other members of the school council. Just last Friday, she had been chosen as president of the 5^th grade. Her friends thought that her leadership skills and her strong sense of moral and ethics would make her the best candidate. They all encouraged her to campaign, after a bit of convincing, she accepted. 

She had made posters and given a couple of speeches to all the 5^th grade classes. To her surprise, even though she was not the most popular student at the school, especially since she was Christian and often got teased about it; she had won!

Two other 5^th graders had applied for the job, Joe Carter and Mary Stevens.  Joe had been nice about her winning; he had come and shook her hand, congratulated her and wished her good luck. Mary, on the other hand had been quite upset, she refused to even speak to Addison and said mean things loudly to a big group of girls about her outfit the day of the election. Addison had pretended not to hear, but it had hurt her feelings.

 When she told her mom about it later that night her mom told her that jealousy can make people act badly. Addison really hoped Mary had cooled down over the weekend, and they could get along again.

Addison picked out her outfit carefully; she wanted to look nice to be in front of the whole school. She picked her favorite jean skirt and a beautiful teal sweater her mom had bought her just last week. She usually put her hair up for school, her mom wanted to make sure it wouldn’t get tangled while she played outside at recess or in PE class, but she thought today would be a good day to keep her hair down. She brushed her long brown hair nicely, pulled the front back and put a flower in it.

Addison ran downstairs to eat breakfast and her parents prayed with her that everything would go smoothly and that Mary would be nice to her, and that if she wasn’t Addison would have a good attitude and that God would give her the right words to deal with it. Addison felt much better after the prayer; God was with her, who could be against her?

She put on her jacket, grabbed her book bag, said good bye to her mom and dad. Her younger sister Renee followed her to the bus stop. 

When she got on the bus, she spotted her good friend Annie who was waving for her to sit with her. Something was odd though, she could tell people were whispering about her. She wondered if it was because of the council presentation. She pretended not to notice and went to sit by Annie.  They had been friend since third grade when Addison had started going to this school. Annie was not a Christian but she loved Addison’s faith and always wanted to learn more about it.

“Addison, you look beautiful with you hair down! I always forget just how long it is!! I wish mine was like that!” said Annie with a big smile on her face.

“Oh thanks! I wasn’t thinking about the fact that since coming to this school I never wore my hair down, people are bound to be surprised…” said Addison with a  bit of a worried look.

“I’m sure it will be fine, who wouldn’t think it’s simply gorgeous?!” Annie gave Addison a side hug.

“Are you ready to go in front of the whole school?”

“I am! I wrote my speech this weekend, my mom helped me. I am excited to see what will happen.” said Addison.

“You will do great, I am sure!” said Annie. Addison was so thankful to have such a sweet friend.

Before they knew it they were pulling up to the school. Everyone was to gather in the auditorium very first period. Addison prayed all the way to her locker, she put her jacket and book bag away and made her way to the auditorium, still praying as she went. It was exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. She had butterflies in her stomach.

When she got there she saw that there were 12 chairs on the stage and the 5^th one from the left had her name on it. Several of the other presidents were already seated up there. She made her way to her chair, sat down and waited.  She scanned the students already sitting in the auditorium; she saw a few friendly faces, and her younger sister Renee was waving at her with a great big smile full of pride on her face. Addison smiled back. Then her gaze came across one very mean face. That one stood out. Mary Stevens was not happy.

Addison prayed quietly that things would go smoothly and tried to get the image of Mary’s angry face out of her mind. The first 4 presidents said their speeches. Now, it was her turn. She went up and read off of her paper and glanced at the audience from time to time, purposefully avoiding a certain spot. Addison told them what her plans were for the year, what she was going to try to improve and what she wanted to make sure they did. When she was done everyone clapped and she again said a quiet a prayer of thanks. God was always with her, what a comfort!

The rest of the meeting when smoothly and the bell rang announcing it was time for second period. Everyone went to their lockers and headed for class.

Addison sat down in the front row for English class. As she was opening her book to the page written on the board she felt someone grab her hair. She turned to see who it was, but before she could even see her face, Mary was pulling her hair. Pain streamed through Addison’s scalp and tears weld up in her eyes. What a mean thing to do. 

Then Mary started talking very loudly for the whole class to hear. “Can you believe Addison’s hair?! Oh my! I would die if my hair ever got that long! What do you think they invented scissors for, you weird girl! It’s not enough that you have to wear skirts all the time, now you have to flaunt your ugly long hair. I think we need to start calling you President Weirdo! What do you all think? Hahahaha! ”

 A couple of Mary’s good friends joined in on the mockery, and as it sadly usually goes when people make fun, most of the class joined in in the insults.

“I bet she thinks she is better than us, that’s why she doesn’t want to wear pants and have normal hair; we shouldn’t have voted her in as president in the first place. Well I should say you shouldn’t have, I voted for Mary!” said another girl.

Annie who was sitting by Addison, she stood up and told everyone to be quiet and leave her friend alone.

Just then, the teacher walked in and everyone pretended nothing happened. All except for Addison who had tears running down her cheeks. The teacher asked what was wrong but Addison decided not to say anything.

The rest of the day Addison avoided Mary as much as she could; she stayed away from her at recess and made sure to sit as far as she could at lunch. She kept praying about what she should do, she was hurt and upset.

On the way home, the girl sitting in front of her in the school but turned to face her.  “Hi, I’m Suzie; I was in the English class this morning. I’m sorry about what happened.”

“That’s ok, Suzie, it wasn’t your fault.” said Addison.

“Maybe not, but I shouldn’t have sat there and let them keep going. I know better than that.  I did want to ask you though, I have been thinking about it all day. Why is your hair so long? Don’t you cut it?” Suzie had a puzzled look on her face.

“No I don’t” said Addison.

Suzie looked surprised. “I think it’s beautiful and it looks really healthy, but why don’t you cut it?”

“The Bible says that my hair is my glory. I keep my hair long to show that I am in submission to God.”

“Wow! This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything like that! I’d love to learn more, but this is my stop. I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” Suzie got up and walked out of the bus. Addison waved at her out of the window and Suzie waved back with a smile.

As she was riding the rest of the way home, Addison got to thinking people probably just didn’t understand why her hair was so long. Maybe this whole ordeal with Mary was not so bad after all. Maybe God was using it so that Suzie could learn more about Him.

After getting home, Addison told her mom and dad about her day. How it went well for the most part, but how Mary attacked her in English class. They were proud of her for keeping her cool. Then she told them how Suzie asked questions on the way home from school.

“I think maybe it was all so Suzie could learn something about the Lord and what we believe, what do you think ?“ said Addison.

“You just may be right honey. I am so glad you are being a witness for Christ, with a godly attitude and with your hair and the way you dress. Your mom and I are so proud of you!” said Dad.

“Thanks Dad. I will talk to Suzie some more tomorrow and tell her more about it if she wants to.” Addison was happy. Even though her day had not gone so well, she had done the right thing, and was getting to talk about the Lord with a new friend.

The next morning, Addison sat alone and when Suzie got on the bus she came to sit with her.

“Hi Addison! How are you?” Suzie was smiling.

“Good! How about you?” asked Addison.

“I’m doing great! I’ve been thinking about your hair all evening and I even talked about it with my mom. She said she didn’t even know some people don’t cut their hair. I told her I would ask you more about it today!”

“I’m happy to tell you whatever you want to know.” said Addison.

“Ok, well first of all, what does it mean that your hair is your glory? You said that yesterday and I don’t get it.”

“It means that God gave me long hair as a sign that I am His child. It’s a symbol of His glory. All through the Bible having long hair is a sign of being under God’s authority. Having long hair is to show that I am consecrated to every word of God. It’s a vow. “Addison said.

“I understand it now. Addison, I am so impressed with you. I love that you know what you believe and why you do what you do. I’d love to learn more!” said Suzie.

 “I love the Lord, and that’s what you see, that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I follow his commands. Would you and your mom like to come to church with us this Sunday?” Addison smiled.

“I would love to, let me ask my mom tonight, and I will let you know.” Said Suzie.

Addison was so happy. It was hard to have people make fun of her and be mean, but she knew God had a plan for her to talk to Suzie about Him. She is on the earth to be a witness to others and she was so happy she was getting to do just that. For the next several days Suzie and Addison hung out a lot and talked about the Lord. Suzie and her mom decided to accept the invitation to come to church.

The End

1 Corinthians 11:15

But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

God made you special – with Layla.
Written by Rebecca Holsapple

As she woke up that morning, Layla had a feeling this day was going to be special. It was her first day at Vacation Bible School and she would get to be a helper in the 3-4 year old class. What a fun thing for her to get to do. She was the youngest helper, at 11, but Sister Patience had recommended her to Sister Honor because she was so mature for her age. Layla was beaming with pride when they told her she could help a couple weeks ago.  Today was the day and her fervent prayer was that God would use her to bless the little ones.

Layla sat in the passenger seat while her dad drover her over.

“So what are you going to be teaching the kids about?”

"The theme of the week is “God made you special.”… I am not sure what the lessons are going to be about but I know we are going to do lots of crafts and games.  Samantha’s little brother and sister are going to be in the class I am helping with."

“That sounds like a lot of fun, honey! I am sure you are going to be a great helper! God certainly made you special! You are such a sweet, helpful and mature young lady. Your mom and I are really proud of you!”

Layla started to blush. She leaned over and kissed her dad on the cheek “Thanks daddy! It means a lot to hear you say that!”

The car stopped, she stepped out and waved goodbye to her dad.

The place was full of kids. Layla could feel the excitement! Everybody was ready to have some fun. She quietly prayed that they would all learn something new about the Lord today.  A wide smile spread across her tan face as she spotted Sister Honor. 

“There’s my helper!! How are you today Layla? Ready to have some fun and help me teach the youngsters about God?”

“I sure am!” said Layla. This was one of the most exciting things she had gotten to do in a long time. She felt so grown up being a helper.

She was handed a badge with a big smiley face on it with her name, Layla Chacon and the word Helper written below it.  She proudly pinned it on her bright yellow shirt.

A whistle blew and the whole group grew silent and gathered around Brother Luke. He told them where each age group would gather every morning and gave everybody instructions as to how they were expected to behave. He said all of it in such a fun way, it didn’t even feel like rules and the whole group was giggling at his antics. He got the message across!

Sis Honor and Layla gathered all the 3 and 4 year olds and walked toward the big tree in the middle of the yard. That was their spot for the week.  They sang some songs, all the kids favorites :”Jesus loves me”, “Jesus loves the little children”, “ I’m in the Lords’ army” and many others.  Layla loved every minute of it, doing motions and giggling with the little ones. 

Then Sis Honor told them about the theme of the week and asked each of them if they were special.  The answers they got were almost enough to roll on the floor laughing. Most of the children talked about things they owned or physical characteristics.

A few minutes later they sat in a circle and drew pictures of themselves.  Around noon, everybody went to lunch and the rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, catch the flag, dodge ball, swinging and sliding.  It was a lot of fun!

Layla’s dad got there right after clean-up time and she was about to get in the car when Sister  Honor ran up to her.

“Layla, hey, sorry to catch you in so short notice, I just got a phone call. My grand-father just got admitted in the hospital and he is 3 hours away. I have to go see him and I won’t be able to be here tomorrow. I was wondering if you would be comfortable taking over tomorrow’s lesson?"

“Sure!” said Layla with a wide smile.

“Here are all the notes, the lesson is about Queen Esther. Read it over, simplify it tonight to make sure you can explain it to the children without using the notes too much. Do you think one of your friends could be your helper tomorrow?”

“I’ll call Samantha and ask her, since her brother and sister are there, she would probably like to.”

“Perfect! Sorry again! You were great today and I am sure you will do just fine tomorrow!”

Layla got in the car, with the notebook on her lap. 

“Wait until your mom hears you have been promoted from helper to teacher in a day! She won’t believe it! You certainly make us proud Layla!” said dad.

“Thanks dad!” Layla’s mind was already on the lesson. She couldn’t wait to read all the notes she had on her lap right now.

When they got home, they sat together at the dinner table over a delicious Mexican meal and she told her mom and dad all about her day.

“Don’t worry about helping with the dishes tonight, sweetie. Go read that lesson so you can be ready for tomorrow!” mom said to Layla.

“Thanks mom! I am so excited about this!!” said Layla as she gave her mom a hug.

She ran up to her room, closed the door and lay on her bed with the notebook.  She opened it and there was a post-it on the first page reading: “Here is the lesson, Layla. Read it and make sure you understand it and retell it to the children on their level. Thank you so much for doing this for me! You are the best! Sis Honor.”

Layla started reading right away…

God has a plan for your life.

"God created you and me. He tells us in His Word that He knit us together while we were inside our mother’s wombs. (Psalm 139:13-15) He knows every little detail about us. He knows how many hairs we have on our heads. (Matthew 10:30) He knows what we like and what we don’t like. He made each of unique and there is no one created exactly like us in the whole world.

We live in a world that sometimes makes us think that we aren’t special because we are not popular, pretty, athletic, or as smart as others. Our value to God isn’t based on any of those things. He loves us because He created us and placed us in this world for a purpose. His purpose for placing each one of us on this earth is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. We glorify God when we live a life that pleases Him and points others to Him. When we live that kind of life we will enjoy God and all the blessings that come from Him.

Because God’s purpose is for each of us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, He has given us gifts or talents that we can use to help others see that God exists and wants them to be a part of His family too.

Sometimes we know clearly what our gifts/talents are and how God wants to use us in this life. Other times we may not know what our gift and purpose is in this life. (If possible take a gift-wrapped box out of a bag and set on your lap.) Our lives are like this unopened present. We have received a present but we don’t know exactly what is inside until we take the wrapping paper off the present. As each of us walk with God by faith day by day, obeying His Word He begins to prepare us for what is inside that present. In God’s perfect time He allows the wrapping on the gift we have to come off and He allows us to see what the talent/ability for serving Him will be. Whether we know what gift God has given us or not, we are to live a faithful and obedient life that pleases God. Because even though we might not feel like we have a purpose and are not useful to God, He sees all that is going on around us. He knows how your life will affect the people around you.

We all influence the lives of others around us. Whether it’s your brother/sister or your classmates there is someone who is affected by the way you live your life. The question we need to think about this morning is: are you influencing people to want to know God and live for Him, or are you influencing people to disobey and rebel against God?

The Bible story for today is found in the Book of Esther.
The king over the country Persia at this time was named Xerxes. He was a very rich king and had very fancy parties that lasted for days and days. One night King Xerxes commanded that his wife Queen Vashti come. She refused to do what the King commanded. This made Xerxes furious that his wife didn’t do what he commanded. The king’s helpers said, “This woman must go! We can’t have her setting a bad example for the other wives in your kingdom!” Xerxes followed their advice and did not allow Vashti to be queen anymore.

Xerxes must have felt better that he had punished the queen for her disobedience but soon after she left his palace he began to miss having a wife. King Xerxes’ helpers came up with an idea. They told the king that he should bring all the beautiful young, pure women who have never been married to the city of Shushan and have a beauty contest. The woman who the king would choose would be the new queen.

The king thought this was a great idea. He had the beautiful young women from the cities in his kingdom brought to the city of Shushan so they could prepare for this beauty contest.

Esther a young Jewish woman lived in Shushan. She was beautiful so she was chosen to be taken with the other young women to take part in the contest to become queen. This may not have been something that Esther wanted anything to do with. Maybe the thought of being Xerxes wife was not something she wanted to do at all. Not knowing what Esther’s feelings on this were we know that she obeyed and went where she was asked to go. She may not have understood but she chose to obey. God has a plan for His children and He places them exactly where He wants them so He can use them for His plan.
After all the women went before the King, he liked Esther best of all. He chose her to be his Queen. It must have been scary for Esther. King Xerxes didn’t always behave in a nice way. She must have heard the story of how Queen Vashti was fired. What kind of husband would Xerxes be? Even though Esther may not have understood why she was chosen to be queen, God did. He had a plan and as we listen we will see how God uses Esther for His plan.

Before Esther became Queen. Mordecai, he cousin, told her it was important to not tell anyone that she was a Jew. The Bible doesn’t tell us why Mordecai asked this of her, but he did. Esther obeyed Mordecai because he was like a father to her and she knew that God would want her to honor and obey the man who was as a father to her.

Mordecai loved Esther very much and he sat at the king’s gate to be near to where Esther lived. One time while he was sitting by the gate he overheard two men planning to kill King Xerxes. He passed this information along to Ether and she told the King. The two men were put to death and Mordecai’s information about this plot was written down in the King’s history books.
The king had a helper who was wicked and cruel. He thought he was a very important man because he worked for the king. His name was Haman. King Xerxes promoted Haman to a position higher than the other officials in his kingdom. The king made a command that everyone should kneel and honor Haman when he was present.

One day as he walked by Mordecai he expected to bow down and honor him. Mordecai knew it was against God’s commandments to bow down to anyone but Him. He would not bow down to honor Haman. This angered Haman and caused him to hate Mordecai. He knew that Mordecai was a Jew so that made Haman hate all Jews.

Because Haman hated all the Jews he went to King Xerxes and asked the king to make a law that all the Jews to be killed. When he asked the king he didn’t mention the Jews by name but said, “There are certain people who live in your land who do not obey the king’s laws. The king listened to Haman and made a law that in the month of Adar all the Jews, men, women, and children would be destroyed.

This was terrible news! God’s people the Jews were going to be destroyed because of wicked Haman’s plan. Haman was having every Jew killed because he hated them so much.

God loves His children and protects them from evil. He does not want His children destroyed. Mordecai found out about this terrible news that the Jews were going to be destroyed. The news broke his heart and caused him to cry. He had messengers go and tell Esther that she had to do something to stop this wicked plan.

When Esther heard this news she was afraid. She knew that if she went to the king without being invited she could be killed right on the spot. Only people who were invited by the king could come and stand before his throne. Mordecai encouraged Esther and told her that it was for this time in her life that God had a plan to use her for His purposes.

Even though Esther might die, she decided that she would have others pray and fast with her. She would go to the king and tell him of this wicked plan to destroy her people. This took courage. God gave courage to Esther to go before the king. God gives courage to His children so that they can do the work He has for them.
After Esther and her people prayed and fasted for three days she went before the king. As she stood in the outer courts and King Xerxes saw her, she must have trembled on the inside. When she looked up at the king she saw a smile on his face and him holding out his scepter for her to touch. This was what a king did to show a person it was ok to come into the room where he was.

Queen Esther was trusting God to show her what to do so when the King asked her what she wanted, she invited him and Haman to a banquet. At the banquet she invited the king and Haman to attend another banquet the next night.

Because Esther trusted God and His timing she didn’t rush to tell Xerxes about Haman’s wicked plan. Because she waited and acted only when the time was right, God was able to work in other events that would bring together His plan for this situation.

Meanwhile the night before Esther’s banquet, the king could not sleep and he asked his servant to bring him a history book for him to read.. As he read in this book he reads about the account of Mordecai overhearing the plot to have him killed. King Xerxes realized that Mordecai had not been honored and rewarded for saving his life so as he was planning how he could reward Mordecai.

As Haman enters the King’s presence the king asks him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”

Pride is an ugly thing. Pride blinds us to the true sinful person that we are. Haman was blinded by pride. He assumed the king wanted to honor him so he came up with the best way he would want to be honored. Imagine his horror when King Xerxes tells him to go and do to Mordecai all that he said about how to be honored!

It was now time for the banquet. Esther knew it was God’s time to tell the King that she and her people were going to be killed. She told the king that she was a Jew and there was a law that her people were going to be killed. The king was furious! “Who would dare to think about killing you?” The king loved his wife and the thought of her being killed made him angry. Esther pointed at Haman and said the enemy who wants to destroy the Jews is this wicked Haman!”

King Xerxes had Haman put to death. God had used Mordecai and Esther to save His people from destruction. Esther went to Xerxes and pleaded with him to write a new law that would save her people. He agreed and made a new law that said on the day that the Jews were to be attacked that they could protect themselves from those who were going to attack them.

The Jews lives were saved because Esther was faithful and obeyed in the circumstance she was in. Many lives were positively affected because of her influence.

We have been placed on this earth at this time in history for God’s plans and purposes. He knows all that is going on around us and He will use us to be a Godly influence in the lives of others around us if we choose to follow and obey Him.

God has made you special and unique, and you need to use your gifts and talents for God’s glory!"

Layla finished reading with tears in her eyes. She had heard the story of Esther before, but it really hit home. God had made her special and put her where she was for a purpose and she wanted to make sure she used all of it for God’s glory.

She prayed that He would help her to do just that.

She made notes to explain the story more on the little kids level but was so glad Sister Honor had given it to her this way. It was a lesson she needed to be reminded of.

The End.

*Portions of the text about Queen Esther were taken from the internet.