I Can Do All Things…Including The Unicycle

I Can Do All Things…Including The Unicycle

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 It all started in kindergarten when I saw the unicycle team. I thought, cool, I’m going to do that. When I became a third grader I got to fill out a form and ride a unicycle. A couple of weeks later, I was excited to open a letter and find out I was going to be a Fairview Flyer. I went to my first unicycle practice excited, but nervous because I had never done it before. The coach lined us all up by size and gave us a unicycle. We each got a partner or two. I saw someone ride a couple pedals and I thought, well, it’s my turn. I started loosening my grip on the person’s shoulder and then brrring! The bell interrupted and I had to go to class. Over the weekend, I was glued to the unicycle...

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Pepe the Parrot’s Predicament

Pepe the Parrot’s Predicament

Hundreds of birds lived in the trees, and they all worked together to help each other. They huddled together in the trees to stay dry when it rained. When there was little food because of the flooding in the valley, they all shared their gatherings of seeds and grain from the fields. But not Pepe. He didn’t share the bananas that were put on his plate daily; neither did he use his ability to speak for them when they needed help. One day, the birds heard a bang and then a thump; a bird fell to the ground. Quickly, the birds in the trees swooped down to see if the little bird survived the fall. Was he breathing? They couldn’t tell as they gathered around him. “Quick, Pepe, go to the window and call for the boy, Ben. He will know what to do.”  Pepe mumbled...

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The Perfect Gift

By Annette Stonger Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 Have you ever received a gift for Christmas you’ll always remember?  You might be smiling right now just thinking about it!  When I was a little girl, my parents gave my brother and sister and I a choice between receiving many little presents or one big gift.  I was the only one who chose the one item.  On Christmas morning, my sister and brother opened a lot of gifts while only one small card lay under the tree for me.  Yet, that single gift contained the biggest, most exciting gift I can remember—horseback riding lessons!  I jumped up and hugged my mom and dad.  I will never forget...

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Freddy’s Gift

by Mrs. Johnson’s Class with Kim Harms Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Holy cow! We got presents,” said Freddy. His family’s house burned down along with all of their Christmas gifts two weeks before Christmas, and they didn’t have enough money to buy new gifts. Freddy looked at the gift tag on an enormous red and green box and saw it was from Mrs. Johnson’s third-grade class at Ballard East Elementary School. “Why did the third-graders buy me a gift?” he asked his grandma, whom his family now lived with. “Their teacher heard about your house fire, and when she told her class, they wanted to help. They pooled their money...

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The Greatest Things

by Meyana “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV The greatest things in life really couldn’t be bought, like God, the one who paid all our debts. None could do what He did for us. Love cannot be bought (or even paid for). Another thing that cannot be bought is family. Family loves you for who you are. Be WHO you are, not who you THINK you are. Dear God, Help us to be the best people we can be for You! You are an Awesome God! Meyana is 10-years-old and was adopted as a baby from China. She was healed from major vision disabilities at age eight after two surgeries and a lot of vision therapy. Praise the Lord! Meyana writes kids’ devotions, poetry, and stories about life. She’s also...

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Prayer for My Puppy

by Emily Capps Hear my prayer Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. Psalm 86:6 I clasped my hands, bowed my head and used every bit of strength in my body on my prayer.  “Dear Lord, help dad to like the new puppy…” Have you ever prayed for something super important? Maybe it was a good grade on a test. Or the lines in the Christmas play you just knew you were going to mess up. Sometimes it’s hard to have faith that God is going to answer your prayer.  Just have patience.  God can help you study, so you can get that A.  He can calm those butterflies so you can remember your lines.  And He sure helped my dad with that new puppy. Nutmeg is still with us today. Emily Capps is 13 years old and lives in the North Carolina mountains with her three dogs, Sam,...

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