VIP: Monday Manna

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First, a couple FYIs for ya :D

I'm at Exemplify today, continuing my Mothers of the Bible series. Pop on over and check out my thoughts on Hagar. Would love to see you there!

Be sure to enter my 11th rebirthday giveaway - you have a chance to win one of three books! Click here to check out the post and qualify to win.  Deadline is tomorrow night!

And NOW to the business at hand:






Welcome to Monday Manna. The purpose of this meme is to get together and get to know Christ more through His Word. On the first and third Monday of each month, anyone who wishes can post their thoughts on a verse I introduced at my blog the Thursday before. It doesn't have to be a long post -- just a few thoughts, a picture you feel helps express it, a poem, a short story, a devotional.

Anyone is welcome to participate. Just put a link to your Monday Manna blog entry in the MckLinky gadget below, and check out others' thoughts.

This week's verse is all about gifts (appropriate, don't you think?). Here it is below:

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Mine are below.

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Ever since my daughter entered kindergarten this last fall, she has wanted to be the VIP. There is a new one each week in Mrs. Rylaarsdam's class. The VIP gets to make up a poster to hang on the wall for all in the class to see. Plus, this special person gets lots of other special privileges during the week. Early the week before, the "VIP folder" gets put in a kindergartener's cubby. Whoever gets it gets to be the VIP the following week.

Almost every week since the first week in September, my daughter has said something about wanting to be the VIP. I always know ahead of time who the VIP will be the following week - because she will tell me. She would always say she hoped she would be the next one. And it never happened.

But this past Thursday, it was different. My daughter didn't just tell me she wanted to be the VIP. She asked me to pray that she would get to be the VIP next. She had never asked me to pray for it before.

So, at bedtime, when I prayed over her, I prayed, out loud, that she would get to be the VIP after Khaleed (one of her classmates). And she smiled.

But now I was a bit worried. How would she react if someone else got to be the next VIP? Would it shatter her trust in the power of prayer? Would she stop praying? So, I decided to do something about it.

You see, Friday was her class Valentine party, and I was planning to attend. I would just pull her teacher aside and see if I couldn't "finagle" her schedule a bit so that my daughter WOULD be the next VIP. That way I wouldn't have to try to explain God's perfect will to a six-year-old.

So, the next day, I went to the party and told Mrs. Rylaarsdam the situation. She went over to her schedule, which had apparently been set for months, and looked. No "finagling" was necessary.

Annika was already scheduled to be the VIP the following week.

And what does that say, I might ask, about my OWN faith? About my desire to "fix" God's will? About my worry that God would NOT provide a good gift to my daughter, as He promised, just because she asked? (Matthew 7:11)

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

My daughter, as of this writing, still is unaware that her prayer has been answered just as she wants it to be. She'll find out today or tomorrow, likely. I hope that it is as much a boost to her faith as it was to mine. But, to be honest, I'll bet she won't be surprised. She asked. He delivered. Simple as that.

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Thank for reading. Be sure to read the other posts below, and link up your own! Can't wait to read them.

Paving Rough Roads With God's Presence