DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY December 17, 2021
WORD OF WISDOM
Your shadow is confirmation that light has traveled nearly 93 million miles
unobstructed, only to be deprived of reaching the ground in the last few
feet thanks to you.
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DAILY DEVOTION
NOTE: Although this is a little different than our regular "Daily Devotion",
when you read this, you will be blessed by the true spirit of Christmas
demonstrated by a child.
The Toothless Grin
A true story by Sharon Palmer.
I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a toy store and decided
to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces.
A nicely-dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls
as well, with a roll of money clamped tightly in her little hand. When she
came upon a Barbie she liked, she would turn and ask her father if she had
enough money to buy it. He usually said "yes," but she would keep looking
and keep going through their ritual of, "Do I have enough?"
As she was looking, a little boy wandered in across the aisle and started
sorting through the Pokémon toys.
He was dressed neatly, but in clothes that were obviously rather worn, and
wearing a jacket that was probably a couple of sizes too small. He, too, had
money in his hand, but it looked to be no more than five dollars or so, at
the most. He was with his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokémon
video toys. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father, his father
shook his head, "No."
The little girl had apparently chosen her Barbie, a beautifully dressed,
glamorous doll that would have been the envy of every little girl on the
block.
However, she had stopped and was watching the interchange between the little
boy and his father. Rather dejectedly, the boy had given up on the video
games and had chosen what looked like a book of stickers instead.
He and his father then started walking through another aisle of the store.
The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the
Pokémon games. She excitedly picked up one that was lying on top of the
other toys, and raced toward the checkout, after speaking with her father.
I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them. Then, much to the
little girl's obvious delight, the little boy and his father got in line
behind me.
After the toy was paid for and bagged, the little girl handed it back to the
cashier and whispered something in her ear. The cashier smiled and put the
package under the counter.
I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things in my purse when the
little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier rang up his purchases and
then said, "Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you
win a prize!" With that, she handed the little boy the Pokémon game, and he
could only stare in disbelief.
It was, he said, exactly what he had wanted! The little girl and her father
had been standing at the doorway during all of this, and I saw the biggest,
prettiest, toothless grin on that little girl that I have ever seen in my
life Then they walked out the door, and I followed, close behind them.
As I walked back to my car, in amazement over what I had just witnessed, I
heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I'll never forget
what she said to him.
"Daddy, didn't Nana and PawPaw want me to buy something that would make me
happy?"
He said, "Of course they did, Honey."
To which the little girl replied, "Well, I just did!"
With that, she giggled and started skipping toward their car. Apparently,
she had decided on the answer to her own question of, "Do I have enough?"
I feel very privileged to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas in
that toy store, in the form of a little girl who understands more about the
reason for the season than most adults I know!
May God bless her and her parents, just as she blessed that little boy, and
me, that day!
Merry Christmas All
By Sharon Palmer, published under the title "Toothless Grin" and also
"Something to Make Me Happy." http://www.authorsden.com/sharonmasonpalmer
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Paul
Acts 14:1-28 Easy-to-Read Version
Paul and Barnabas in Iconium
1 Paul and Barnabas went to the city of Iconium. As they did in Antioch,
they entered the Jewish synagogue. They spoke to the people there. They
spoke so well that many Jews and Greeks believed what they said. 2 But some
of the Jews did not believe. They said things that caused the non-Jewish
people to be angry and turn against the believers.
3 So Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time, and they spoke bravely
for the Lord. They told the people about Gods grace. The Lord proved that
what they said was true by causing miraculous signs and wonders to be done
through them. 4 But some of the people in the city agreed with the Jews who
did not believe Paul and Barnabas. Others followed the apostles. So the city
was divided.
5 Some of the Jews there, as well as their leaders and some of the
non-Jewish people, were determined to hurt Paul and Barnabas. They wanted to
stone them to death. 6 When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they left
the city. They went to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the
surrounding areas. 7 They told the Good News there too.
Paul in Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra there was a man who had something wrong with his feet. He had
been born crippled and had never walked. 9 He was sitting and listening to
Paul speak. Paul looked straight at him and saw that the man believed God
could heal him. 10 So Paul shouted, Stand up on your feet! The man jumped
up and began walking around.
11 When the people saw what Paul did, they shouted in their own Lycaonian
language. They said, The gods have come down to us in the form of humans!
12 The people began to call Barnabas Zeus, and they called Paul Hermes,
because he was the main speaker. 13 The temple of Zeus was near the city.
The priest of this temple brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates.
The priest and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.
14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, understood what the people were
doing, they tore their own clothes.[a] Then they ran in among the people and
shouted to them: 15 Men, why are you doing this? We are not gods. We are
human just like you. We came to tell you the Good News. We are telling you
to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God, the
one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
16 In the past God let all the nations do what they wanted. 17 But God was
always there doing the good things that prove he is real. He gives you rain
from heaven and good harvests at the right times. He gives you plenty of
food and fills your hearts with joy.
18 Even after saying all this, Paul and Barnabas still could hardly stop the
people from offering sacrifices to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to
turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him and dragged him out of the
town. They thought they had killed him. 20 But when the followers of Jesus
gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he
and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21 They also told the Good News in the city of Derbe, and many people became
followers of Jesus. Then Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities of Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch. 22 In those cities they helped the followers grow
stronger in their faith and encouraged them to continue trusting God. They
told them, We must suffer many things on our way into Gods kingdom. 23
They also chose elders for each church and stopped eating for a period of
time to pray for them. These elders were men who had put their trust in the
Lord Jesus, so Paul and Barnabas put them in his care.
24 Paul and Barnabas went through the country of Pisidia. Then they came to
the country of Pamphylia. 25 They told people the message of God in the city
of Perga, and then they went down to the city of Attalia. 26 And from there
they sailed away to Antioch in Syria. This is the city where the believers
had put them into Gods care and sent them to do this work. Now they had
finished it.
27 When Paul and Barnabas arrived, they gathered the church together. They
told them everything God had used them to do. They said, God opened a door
for the non-Jewish people to believe! 28 And they stayed there a long time
with the Lords followers.
Footnotes
Acts 14:14 tore
clothes This showed they were very upset.
