Did you know?

I have this cool, funny, interesting, and kind of wacky science teacher this year. I enjoy going to her class each day, because it is such a blast! Each day she has a little fact or what my class calls it a "did you know" on her white board. You might find this amusing, but I write each fact down on a piece of notebook paper so I can share them with my family. :D Here are a few of the neatest ones that I picked out...

Did you know?

• A ducks quack does not echo. No one knows why.
• Butterflies taste with their feet.
• A giraffes heart weighs 25 pounds.
• Once in England because of a water spout it rained frogs!

Here is the most important fact you should know of all. Jesus died on the cross for you, so that you could be saved, and cleansed you from your sins. He did it just for you so you could be in heaven with him for eternity! That means for ever and ever! It doesn't get better than that! Now you might be wondering, how I can get to heaven to be with Jesus? It is as easy as this. You just accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. You also believe that he died on the cross for you, and saved you. Here are a few scriptures from the bible that talk about this.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us."

John 14:6

"Jesus answered, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Romans 10:9

"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 1:12

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

For more information on this go to this website.

The Gift of Good Books

These are a few of the books on my bookshelf that I would like to share with you. Each book is also written by Irene Howat. Every book has a good message and greatly interests me, and I hope it will you too. So here I go.

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This first book I will introduce is called Ten Girls Who Changed the World. I have three other books in the series that I will show you later, but basically what it is about is what the title says! :D These girls include Gladys Aylward, Mary Slessor, Isobel Kuhn, Elizabeth Fry, Jackie Pullinger, Amy Carmichael, Jony Eareckson Tada, Catherine Booth, Corrie Ten Boom, and Evelyn Brand. Each of these girls in this book shared the light that Jesus gave them, and shared it with the WORLD! I found all of their stories very interesting, and I believe if you go and read this book you will too!

The next book that I have in this series is called Ten Girls Who Made History . These girls include Florence Nightingale, Henrietta Mears, Mary Jane Kinnaird, Ilisabeth Elliot, Ida Scudder, Betty Green, Jeanette Li, Bessie Adams, Emma Dryer, and Lottie Moon. Each of these girls made history, and changed the world also just like in the first book. One thing you outta know. They did it with Jesus. This book encouraged me, and also helped me.

The third book I have in this series is called Ten Girls Who Didn't Give In . These are the names of the girls who didn't give in. Blandina, Perpetua, Lady Jane Grey, Anne Askew, Lusken Dirks, Marion Harvey, Margaret Wilson, Judith Weinberg, Betty Stam, and Esther John. All the girls in this book grew up to be women who didn't give in. They chose to do the right thing instead of the wrong thing like the bible says in Matthew 7:13-14. Each of these girls never lost faith in Jesus, and always followed Him.

The last, but not least book in this series is called Ten Girls Who Used Their Talents . The girls in this book include Helen Roseveare, Maureen Mckenna, Annie Lawson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Sarah Edwards, Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, Mildred Cable, Katie Ann Mackinnon, Patricia St. John, and Mary Verghese. Each of these gals used their God given talents to spread the gospel, and truth around the world. How inspiring!

I hope you enjoyed these book reviews, and will get to read them some time!

24/7/365

Draw near God and He will draw near to you.

James 4:8 (NKJV)

A few months ago my dad switched to a new job flying helicopters. When he is away it is easy to become disconnected, or lose touch for awhile. There are lots of different ways to keep in touch with dad while he is gone though. It isn't like we never get to talk. My family can call him, video chat, send him e-mails, letters, and we can text. I am sure you can think of lots of other ways we could talk to.

The same thing can happen with God. If we don't walk with Him by praying, worshiping, and, reading our Bibles it is very easy that we can become disconnected. But when we do practice these things and draw near to God, like James 4:8 says, we build a relatinship with Him, and when you build relationships you become stronger in your spirital life! Try to do this everyday. You know the saying 24/7/365.

What are you going to do about this? Do you want to build a relationship with God? Just remember this God is our Abba, our heavenly father, and he wants to spend just as much time with you as your earthly father does.

A Special Way to Pray

I was reading this magazine/devotional book. (I couldn't really decide what it was.) It had this little devotional that I wanted to share with you. This isn't the whole thing, but it is basically the main idea. I put it in my own words.

Do you ever get in a habit that when you pray it is kinda like you are just asking for things? I know I do. Here is a little model that we can follow called ACTS.

The "A" in ACTS stands for adoration. That means to sort of brag on God. Praise Him for how awesome he is. Adore Him. When you pray rember the things you love about him. Examples would be praising Him for His perfection, ability to forgive, His power, how much he loves us, and His gift of Jesus. Adortion helps us to take all our attention off ourselves and put it on God.

The "C" in ACTS stands for confession. Confession means to tell God what we did wrong, asking Him to forgive us, and to ask Him to help us to not do that thing again. Confessing our sin everyday helps us remember that sin is serious to God.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

The "T" in ACTS stands for thanks. We should have thanksgiving everyday, and thank God for His wonderful blessings. Since it is sometimes hard to forget to thank God you can have a prayer journal where you write down things your thankful for, blessings, and prayers.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:8

The "S" in ACTS stands for supplication. That means asking God for somthing for ourselves or for others. Try to think of others before you think of yourself when you are praying. We should talk to God like we would with our mom or dad or even with our best friend. Tell Him everything!

ACTS helped me think more about the way I prayed. It helped me alot, and I hope it will help you.

Now, let me remind you of a free resource for girls like the book that I mentioned above. Growing in Grace is an online magazine for young ladies. You have to buy what I just reviewed, but GGM doesn't cost a thing! Be sure and give them a visit because the new July edition is out! Enjoy!

Martha and Mary

Luke 10:38-42 (King James Version)
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Character study on Martha:
In Luke 10:38-42, Martha talked to Jesus and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me. It seems that Martha would get distracted by preparations. She loved Jesus, but it was easy to get distracted. Words that describe Martha are demanding, questioning, loving.

Character study on Mary:
Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to everything He said. Jesus was very important to her. Here are some words describing Mary...loving, good, attentive. In Luke 10:38-42, Mary did not talk. She listened.

In comparing Mary and Martha, I feel that they were very different from each other. Martha pretty much yelled at Jesus, while Mary was sitting quietly at His feet.

I think I am most like Mary, although I have my Martha moments. Who do you feel you are most like?

Shalom~Peace

When I heard that the theme at Growing in Grace for January was peace, I was excited to hear this because it is one my favorite fruits of the Spirit. It is special to me because it is the meaning of my name. I wasn't very sure of this until I saw Miss Jocelyn’s article where you type in your name and it comes up in Hebrew. My name on there meant peaceable and perfect. After that, I was really sure that is what it meant.

The dove is a symbol of peace. In the Bible, a dove was released by Noah after the great flood in order to find land. The dove came back carrying an olive branch in its beak, letting Noah know that the water had gone down and there was land once again for man to live on. You can read this story in Genesis 8.Jesus is the Prince of peace. Whenever I feel the presence of the Lord I sense this great peace come over me and all of a sudden I feel calm and relaxed. That only comes from Him. You can even feel His peace in hard times.

Interesting Fact...The peace symbol was created in Britain as a sign of nuclear disarmament, which means they wanted to get rid of nuclear weapons.

Now, the LORD bless thee, and keep thee. The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Numbers 6:24-26

Before and After

When it comes to organizing you might as well shout my name. My job in the family is to organize things. I mainly work on the junk drawer and the art cabinet. Mom says no one can do as good as I can. I usually clean them out once every two or three months. In the pictures below you will see my latest work.

Before

After

Before we have Jesus in our lives we feel messy and out of place. When we ask Him into our lives He comes into our heart and cleans us all up and sorts every thing out. Do you know how somethings don't just fit in the right spot unless you put something different in there first? Well it is the same way with Jesus. If you don't put him first then all of your things just won't fit in.

World Smile Day

Do you recognize this picture?

Henry Ball is the artist who created the yellow smiley face in 1963. This has become one of the biggest symbols of happiness known to this day. He decided that one day a year should be dedicated to smiling and doing acts of kindness.

When I smile it makes me feel happy. When someone smiles at me, it makes me feel that that person cares about me. If you think about it why would someone smile if it had no meaning? They must be in a good mood and have a good attitude for it to really mean something.

A smile means happiness. When Christians smile it can show that we have joy. When people ask us why we’re so happy we can just tell them that we have the love of Jesus.

On World Smile Day, we can make people smile by showing acts of kindness.

Here are some ideas for you…

Make a get well card for someone who is sick

Hold the door open for someone

Be the first to give a friendly “Hello”

Hug a friend

Help your mom without being asked

Ask your dad how his day was

Ask your younger sibling if they want to play a fun game

And of course, SMILE!

Do you have another idea to make someone smile? If so, please leave a comment.
"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4

Got Bling?

Bling-bling! It sparkles. It shines. And it surely catches your eye! You’ll be the envy of all your friends if you buy the new and improved Bedazzler.

The new thing in fashion is to be caught covered in sequins and sparkles from your head to your toes. It’s everywhere! In magazines, on TV, in the mail, catalogs and even in country stores I go in!

How do you want to attract attention...with sparkles and it being all about your outer appearance, or do you want it to be about what is on the inside? Every girl has a choice. I get tempted to think how do I look in this outfit, do these shoes match this shirt, is my hair alright? In fact I think like that every day, and I probably shouldn't think like that at all.

What if instead we let our sparkle, or light come from the inside? Let's ask questions instead like, am I using all the fruits of the spirit such as, love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Now that is some shiny fruit that is sure to sparkle, and grab some attention!

Never Give Up

Have you ever wanted to do something and have tried and tried, but never made that much progress? Well, if you have, I know how you feel, because it is the same thing here. For me, I have always wanted to do gymnastics, but I am clumsy.

In particular, cartwheels are not my thing. I cannot point my toes very well and my left leg just will not get in the air. I look like my brother’s remote control helicopter crashing. Then there is my landing which is not a pretty sight.

I am pretty good at most things I try, so having this problem kind of keeps me humble, especially because all my friends can do cartwheels really well. If I am not careful, I can feel left out and sorry for myself.

Not being able to do a cartwheel is not a big thing, but maybe you have a larger problem than that. Maybe you are having family problems or school work is hard.

Whatever your difficulty is, the Bible says we should “glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:3-4).

Dear God, I pray that you would help everyone with their problems and that if anyone is having a hard time you would carry them through. Help us rejoice in our sufferings and produce perseverance, character, and hope.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Freedom

“Turn it up! Turn it up! Please!”

I remember telling my mom repeatedly.When I was about five years old I had a favorite song called Freedom by Darrel Evans. Every time I heard it on the radio I would ask my mom that same question over. I didn’t care what anyone thought about what I was doing. I had all the freedom in the world when I rejoiced and danced for the Lord.

Whenever I go out in public I sometimes lose what really is me inside and my shyness takes over a little too much. I think we all have that same problem at some point. God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. I hope that God will help me overcome that mistake and let me have real FREEDOM just like I did when I was dancing around in my living room as a little girl.

Moving On And Growing Up

A few weeks ago, we moved into a brand new house. I was very scared about all the changes that were going to be made. I would have to make brand new friends, leave two of my cats behind that I had come to love, along with all the good memories from our old house.

Through all of this I realized that God lets hard things into our lives to help us grow in our faith and grow closer to Him. Romans 8:28 says “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

I have learned that when you feel comfortable and things are easy, like at my old house, I didn’t have to trust God as much because I knew what to expect. Now, I really have to trust Him way more than I did before because there are new people that I have never met and places I have never been to before.

It made me realize that this is not an everlasting place like Heaven will be. It is just temporary. God is preparing me for even more challenging times in my future, but the thing He is really getting me ready for is my real home!

Do you have hard times that you are dealing with in your life right now? Let me remind you that if you have hope in Jesus, He will bring you through.

Dear Jesus, I pray that you will help me and everyone else through all the things that are happening in my life and that you would keep us safe. Thank you for working a good purpose through hard times. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Optical Illusions

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12

The other day there was a science fair at my school. It only came around once a year so we decided to join in on the fun since I had made my own display board. While we were looking around they had others along with different experiments for you to do. On the stage all of the boards that kids had made were up on top. One in particular caught my eye. It was called “The Brain Deceives You”. Each part of the board had different illusions. Here are some for you to try…

Try saying the colors of the words, but not what they really say. Try doing it three times fast.

Red, Green, Blue, Yellow,
Pink, Purple, Orange, Grey,
Brown, Black, White

___________________________________________________

Can you see it moving?

____________________________________________________

Do you see a bunny or a duck?

Well, you saw a few optical illusions, but did you know that not only the brain deceives you? Yes, satan can deceive you too. Do you remember in the Bible when he told Eve that if she ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil that she would be as wise as God? Eve believed him and she ate from the tree. After that she gave a piece of fruit to Adam and told him the same story that the serpent had told her. When they ate the fruit their eyes where opened to things they had never noticed before. You see, you many think things are right, but they might not be, just like those optical illusions. Sometimes I feel like coveting my friend’s toys when I am at their house or I might feel tempted to do something that my mom told me not to do. No matter what I am about to do wrong I ask God to help me. Do you ever feel like being tempted or coveting? Remember, it is an optical illusion. Just bring it to God and He will help you.

He Cares About the Little Things

Hi Everyone!! Okay I have a little chalenge for all of you who want to particitipacte. Today my brother, mom, and I went to a carnival at our school. It was so much fun!!! It was a fundraiser so we decided to join in.

I was walking along the street with a few of my friends and we saw a huge line going from one place to another. It ended up that they had a few fish bowls with colored water in them. What you were trying to do was throw a ping pong ball in one of the bowls in three tries to win your very own GOLDFISH! I decided to give it a try. I mean what did I have to lose? From a distance it looked real easy, but once I actually tried it real hard. Finally on my last try I made it into the bowl. And I got my very own goldfish!!! Can you see my ball in the green bowl?

Next, my brother came along and asked where I got the fish and I said, "Over there where the long line is. You can't miss it..." About 5 minutes later my brother was in the line and ready to win.

"Sorry you didn't win, but you can come over here and get a play goldfish," the teacher said in the nicest voice she could.

I felt so sorry for my brother I almost gave him my goldfish. Another 30 min. later we were in line for the third try. My mom and I where praying hard for my dear brother to get a fish. When it came to be his turn he finally won. We were all screaming and jumping up and down (forgeting about the fish in the bag). Happy as can be we rushed home and put the 2 goldfish in a bowl.


"Now isn't that just amazing that God cares for even the littlest things?" Mom asked.


"Yes!" we both answered.

The thing is we can't figure out what to name them. We need your help.

Please leave your vote for a good boy and girl name. Thanks so much!

Deadline: April 10, 2007

(This was attached to the bag. Isn't that cool? Also, at my school, the fifth grade is selling KJV Bibles. Pretty neat for a public school, huh? Praise the Lord!)

Down by the Stream

My brother and I love to go to a creek by our house. It is full of excitement and memories. We love to chunk rocks, climb on limbs, and scale down the side of the creek bank. Usually our mom says, “Now don’t y’all come home all wet!” As much as we try, it is very hard to come home without at least some mud. The other day we found some deer tracks near the water. It made us think, “Maybe we are not the only ones that enjoy coming here.”

In the Bible God says, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. You see, a hart is a deer and we have loads of deer on our property that love to come drink water from our stream. They must have water to live and so do we, but what we also need is Jesus. I need Him to help me deal with friends at school, at home with my family, and everywhere I go. As the deer needs water, what are the ways that you need Jesus? Think about it.

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Just Like my Daddy

This is like my altime favorite story. It's one of my moms old blog posts, but I just wanted to share it with you.
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My eleven-year-old daughter, Olivia, is crazy about her daddy. She writes notes to him and draws pictures for him. When he is away at work, she cannot wait to see him and when he is home, she is practically in his back pocket, following him around like a sheep follows a shepherd.
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As Christians, we have a Heavenly Father who we are to look to as Olivia does her dad. What emptiness and lack of fulfillment we experience when we do not seek Him in prayer and in His word, but instead seek satisfaction in the temporal things of this world!
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As my daughter hangs on every word her daddy speaks, we hang on to the promises of our Faithful Father. His words are life and peace.
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Olivia knows her dad intimately. I observe her as she studies him at the dinner table and on the basketball court. She copies him in her conversation and as she practices lay-ups.
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As children of the Most High, let us purpose to know the nature and attributes of our Perfect Father, following the example that He gave us in Christ. We walk in love as He did. We are patient with others as He is with us. We pray for others as Christ intercedes to the Father on our behalf.
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These things and others cannot be accomplished in our own strength. God the Father has given us the Holy Spirit as a helper. We must be Spirit led in our thoughts, words, and actions if we truly want to follow and be like our Good Shepherd.
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Yes, Olivia wants to be like her daddy, but as her father is being conformed into the image of Christ, he is pointing her to take part in that same radical transformation.

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Fading Flowers

The grass withereith, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 KJV

As we are coming into this wonderful season the flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and everything is taking place in what we call spring. Usually when people think of spring they think of flowers. Personally, my favorite flower is the daffodil. It has a very bright yellow color and always makes me feel cheerful.

Here in the world people spend hundreds of dollars on flowers to plant around their house or in their garden, but in the Bible God says that the world will not last forever although He does say that the place He is getting ready for us will last for eternity. So next time you are about to buy some flowers think about this, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever."

Salvation

I have always known about Jesus. My mom says that His name was actuallyone of my first words! When I was a toddler, or so, my mom would sing songs to me like "Jesus Loves Me" or she and dad would tell me all kinds of stories about Him. But there was definitely a time in my life when Ireally wanted to know God, not just know about Him.I wanted to know Him personally, but first I had to:

1. Admit I was a sinner and was in need of God.

2. Believe that Jesus died and rose again for my sins.

3. Confess Jesus as Lord of my life.It was as easy as ABC and because I was only six and learning myalphabet and how to read, this was an easy way to understand how to besaved. Now, I pray to Him every day by just talking to Him. I praise Him everynight which means I like to sing to Him before I go to bed.He is always there when I need Him, like when I have problems at schoolwith friends. He also helps me when I take a test or have to make aspeech. Jesus is real to me. I am sure glad I know Him. You can get to know Him too.

~Lady Olivia

If this was your first time learning about how to trust Jesus as your Savior and you have just believed in Him as you read this, please let us know.

Now for a giveaway!! We have a small New Testament Bible with God's Precious Promises especially highlighted from the publisher. It's a handy tool for leading a person to the Lord and it's free to one person who would like to have it. Simply have your mom e-mail our moderator to submit your name for the drawing.

The True Lamb

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:19 KJV

When I was a little baby I was given a very special gift that I still treasure to this day. Some kids might sleep with blankets. Others might sleep with Beanie Babies, but I sleep with a lamb.

Lambie and I have gone through almost everything you could say. We’ve gone on many different vacations. She’s been there when I was sick and of course she’s there when I’m asleep.

As special as Lambie is to me, there is another Lamb that is way more important than her…It’s Jesus Christ, the True Lamb.

Usually, Lambie comforts me and makes me feel really calm, but she can’t always go with me everywhere. In the Bible Jesus promises to always be with us and comfort us whenever we need Him to.

My brother might say sometimes, “Don’t you think you’re a little too old to sleep with that?” or “I’ve stopped sleeping with my toys and I’m seven don’t you think you should stop by now?!” Yes I know I might be a teensy bit old to still sleep with a stuffed animal and I know I’ll grow out of it some day, but I do know one thing, I’ll never outgrow the True Lamb.

M&M Gospel ~ A Sweet Story

The M&M's tell a wonderful story by their colors! Enjoy this great way of sharing the gospel that I learned from Miss Lisa and MJ. If you haven't been to Growing in Grace, you really should!

The Dark Chocolate M&M: There's a darkness in this world that we all battle from day to day. This battle is the war between our flesh and our spirit and that entity we fight with is called sin. Sin is a dark nature within us that we cannot escape on our own. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Dark chocolate is bittersweet and sin has it's pleasure for a season, but is not profitable for our relationship with Jesus. In fact, we cannot get to heaven on our own, because of sin.

The Yellow M&M: The yellow M&M reminds me of Heaven for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that the streets of heaven are made of pure gold. The second reason is that the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father and loves us very much! Jesus wants us to be in Heaven with all His heart, but sin is not allowed in Heaven. God has always known that we sin, but makes Him sad because He knows sin cannot enter His heavenly home. Then Jesus raised his hands and said, "I'll go Father. I'll go to earth and teach the people how they CAN know for sure they can get to heaven to be with you." The Father and Son both know that there is a payment for sin and that payment must be fulfilled. Someone must pay that sin debt, but it has to be someone that has never sinned. That's when Jesus came to earth in the form of a man and lived a perfect life.

The Red M&M: After Jesus was grown and had begun his ministry here on earth, He knew the time was nearing that the sin debt would need to be paid for. Many people did not believe that He is the Son of God, as a matter of fact, they thought He was lying to them when He told them that "Whosoever believeth in me shall not perish, but have everlasting life and that no man cometh unto the father but by me." The people did not believe him and the penalty was death. Jesus knew this was going to be his fate one morning, but he willingly went forward, recalling His words to the Father, that He would volunteer to pay the sin debt so that all mankind could be in heaven one day. Jesus was lead to Calvary, after being beaten so severely that people could not even tell that he was a man. On the cross of Calvary that day, Jesus stretched out his arms and died for you and for me. His shed blood was the sacrifice needed for our sins to be forgiven.

The White M&M: Yes there IS a white M&M, it's just not in the classic bag you see in stores today, but rather through the customized option on their site and in some candy stores throughout America's malls. The White M&M brings me great joy, for it is the white that indicates the washing of our sins. Jesus's blood washed us white as snow, so that our sin is not seen by the Father anymore. It's the proof that we are forgiven for our sin nature and our ticket to enter the pearly gates of Heaven.

One thing I could never understand is that the old motto of the M&M's candies is, "They melt in your mouth, not in your hand." Yet, my M&M's always left a smudge of chocolate on my hands. My mom could always tell if I had gotten into the M&M bags. Although we are forgiven by the Father, we still sin each and every day. After all, we're not perfect and we will always make mistakes. When we sin it does leave it's mark on us, whether it be through the tone of our voice, the expressions on our faces, and even the images within our own minds. That daily sin will not cause us to lose our home in heaven, but it will cause us to have a difficult time communicating with the Savoir. His Holy Spirit resides in the hearts of all those who have trusted in His death as the payment for their sin. The Holy Spirit wants to talk to us every day and express God's love and mercy to us through various ways. When we live in sin, making no effort to communicate with the Father, it makes it difficult for us to hear Him speaking to us.

The Green M&M: It's very important to keep your hands clean. Anytime that chocolate smudges onto your hands, wash it off right away. We do this by GOing to the Lord and confessing our sin and apologizing to God right away. If we go any length of time without saying we're sorry for our daily mistakes, it leaves chocolate fingerprints on everything we touch.If you have never believed in the Lord with your heart and you'd like to today, just tell Him. Just talk to God like you would talk to a friend or your mom. Tell Him you believe He is real and that He died for you. Admit you aren't perfect and that you know you can't get to heaven on your own because of your sin. Trust that He will say yes, because His very own Word, the Bible says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Once you have believed in Him with your heart and have communicated to Him that you want him to save you from sin and let you in heaven, He will ALWAYS be with you! You will still make mistakes every day, but God has forgiven you. Just remember the Green M&M telling you to GO to the Father and say you're sorry when you do make mistakes. His love and mercy is never ending!