THE PLAYGROUND By Sally I. Kennedy

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you
sent me and have loved them. John 17:23

Our ten year old granddaughter had challenged me to a game of
slapjack. She was beating me. Badly, I might add. The rules seemed to
be different than I remembered. It s been a long time, but slapjack is
pretty basic, I thought.

A few of our other grandchildren were outside playing with a ball,
arguing. One of them had been accused of making up the rules. Before
long, I heard, You re cheating. No fair! The retort, I m
quitting!

On the playground of life, it s good to learn how to give and take and
share. It s also good to not give up playing together, taking your
marbles and going home if things aren t going your way.

Over time, we have created many faith denominations. We have learned
to do things a little differently. It is worthwhile, however, to find
a way to play together, be bruidge builders.

Unity is good. That doesn t mean our basic beliefs have to be
compromised. Each one of us, and each group, has something unique to
offer. It s kind of like potluck dinners. What a great invention. You
take one food item, like a casserole, salad, or cake. Then you have
your choice of all kinds of food for your dinner. Our plates would be
much less balanced if we only ate from our own dishes, plus a possible
deficiency in healthy nutrition by not covering a little from each
food group. We all have something to offer, and none of it is quite
the same. Even if we start with the same recipe.

No man is an island. We need each other so we can share our varied
strengths. And unity is a big deal to God. The foot of the cross is a
place we can all meet. Our Father planned for all us kids to try and
get along; it s good to keep coming to the playground.

Sally I. Kennedy is the author of Irish Thursdays , "Words from the
Heart , and 52 Little Parables from Ireland" . She lives in south
Florida, with her husband Ben. You can email Sally at
sallyikennedy@bellsouth.net and visit her website at
http://www.sallyikennedy.com

FRAYED By Sally I. Kennedy

..that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that
you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together
with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is
the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19

Cottony white, puffy clouds were dotting the azure backdrop of sky. I
watched from the porch a few minutes, pausing to take in the peace and
the beauty.

Suddenly those beautiful solid looking clouds that appeared so compact
began to fray at the edges. The appearance was as if something were
tugging at the outsides, pulling at the edges. The main parts of the
clouds, the core, stayed intact.

Frayed. What has happened to me when I appear to ‘have it all
together’; while looking ‘solid’ the edges begin to visibly fray.
That’s when it’s definitely time for me to get back to basics, take
some time to check priorities and take an inventory, a spiritual re-
evaluation.

I may become frayed from time to time, yet I won’t unravel all the way
with Christ at the core. Circumstances and people may pull on the
edges, but frayed won’t turn into a terminal condition.

That’s good news.

WORTHLESS...PRICELESS Author Unknown

PARABLE OF THE PENCIL Author Unknown

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you might make or grow through them.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to serve God in everything.

By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth having a meaningful purpose in our heart and a relationship with God daily.

UGLY BIRDHOUSE By Marion Smith

“That is one ugly birdhouse, “ I thought, as I took my early morning walk on a new route. “Wonder why the people who own that property don’t do something to spruce the drab birdhouse up? They could sand and paint it, or decoupage a scene on it…something, for goodness sake!” Just as I was mulling over all these constructive critical thoughts in my mind(!), a beautiful bluebird flew out of the above mentioned birdhouse. He soared off into the air, with the beauty of his open wings in full display.

The unattractive appearance of the birdhouse made no difference to that little bird. He saw an appealing place to make his home - to build his nest- and he entered it and did so. Inside the wooden house, the nest is intricately woven and is made of twigs, leaves and a variety of other materials from nature.

Do you know God wants to build His nest of love inside our hearts? The exterior appearance doesn’t matter to Him- whether we are spruced up and beautiful or dried out and weather beaten. When God looks at you, or me, or any of His children, He sees a wonderful place to make His home. He wants to bring us all His attributes, and will build a tightly woven nest of love in our hearts. He will take twigs
of compassion, love, joy, patience, , peace, gentleness, kindness, goodness and self control, and weave them into a wonderful love nest for our hearts to dwell in. The best component of God’s love is forgiveness. He weaves that twig of forgiveness throughout the entire nest, holding it together. He is ready to forgive all our sins, and this forgiveness we receive allows us to soar to the heights of a
personal relationship with Him.

I am so glad God chooses His dwelling place in the hearts of all…. Not just those with polished exterior appearances. For outward appearances and beauty will fade, but the love the Lord has for us never will.