WHERE IS KAILYN?

Hi, This is posted a little later in the day than usual. We had a storm and that caused our server to be down. Hope you were not in the path of a tornado or high winds.

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: John 21:15-17

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

WHERE IS KAILYN?

Sometimes in an emergency, not knowing what is going on until it is over is a good thing. When our (three years old at the time) granddaughter, Kailyn, went missing, was one of those times. How frightening not to know where your child is, especially in this scary world.

She had been standing there. Just two minutes before and Bill, our son, thought he heard a door shut. "Kailyn," he called. No answer. Outside and louder, "Kailyn." No answer. No Kailyn. He checked inside again. No Kailyn. Outside again. No Kailyn. Bill was becoming very afraid. Is Kailyn upstairs with her mother? No Kailyn. Now they are really afraid. The call for Kailyn became very loud. Did she cross the street to play? No, she is not on the playground. Call the police. Yes, they will begin to search. Neighbor children on bikes ride by. No, they have not seen Kailyn, but they will look. Everyone is looking. NO KAILYN!

Then Kailyn came out of the house. "Wasn't I playing hide-n-seek good? I never answered when you called."

After the police went home, after the children on bikes were told to quit looking and after everyone had calmed down, Kailyn understood -- She had to tell BEFORE she played hide-n-seek.

I then turned this into a children's story at church. I told the story of Kailyn being lost and of the number of people who were willing to help. I asked the children who would help them. Their parents. Okay, would the parents of these children stand up? Who else? The ministers. Okay, would all the ministers stand up? Who else? The Sunday School teachers. Okay, would all the Sunday School teachers stand up?

Then I took a chance, because you never know how well the congregation is listening. I told the children that I bet there were other people out there who would help them. Guess what? Before I could get the sentence out of my mouth, everyone else had stood up. One little boy turned to me and said, "They all stood up." Yes, they had. Do you know how impressed the children were to see the whole congregation standing, to show they were there for them? The kids knew. Hopefully, they will not forget and will call on the members of the church when they need help.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Who can you call on when you need help? When you want to laugh? When you want to cry? When you want to pray?

LET US PRAY

Dear God, You are always ready to listen to me. But you have also put other people into my life. People I can call on when I need to pray or cry or celebrate. Shepherds who will come look for me, when I am lost, and then be there for me. I thank you for ………………………………… Amen