Imagine a roller rink filled with 9 & 10 year olds. The noise, the excitement, the screams, the giggles, the laughter, the falls, the speeds, the smiles, the chaos.

I don’t have to imagine it. I lived it last week with a handful of other parents as we joined Mrs. Williams and the 4th graders who have volunteered at Alexander School for an afternoon of skating fun.

Spending the afternoon with Jocie and her classmates, I observed a couple things:

1.When you fall down, get back up!

Simple really.  When we fall down, whether it be literally or figuratively, it hurts! Sometimes more than others. Every kid that fell that afternoon (and there were many) got back up and went back to skating. They didn’t let __________ (hurt, embarassment, lack of skill, ect) prevent them from going again.

2. Help someone, even if it slows you down.

Not every 4th grader could skate, but they all were trying. Those that were struggling quickly found that two, three or four other 4th graders were at their side trying to teach them or encourage them to skate.

Those encouragers could have done more laps, gone faster, not fallen as much, but I suspect they would have missed out on an aspect of the afternoon they experienced when they helped a classmate.

More of us should live life this way.

A new day has begun. .

God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.

Their words aren’t heard,
their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

God makes a huge dome
for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.

That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.

The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.

God’s Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.

There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

Psalm 19

What words will you chew on (& pray on) today?

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