Second Peter 1:13 tells us “… add to your faith, virtue…” Do you know what virtue is? It is doing what is right, and doing it the best way you possibly can, even when no one is looking. Virtue includes encouraging others to do the right thing, and doing what is right, even if it means you stand alone.

Why is virtue important?  Who cares if you do everything right all the time – it’s impossible anyway, no one is perfect, right? It is very important for many reasons.  But the most important one is that God won’t be able to trust you to do big things for Him if you do not have virtue. God had a purpose and destiny for each one of you, but he can’t throw you into it because you have to grow into it by growing in virtue (added to you your faith). God has to be able to trust you with the little things, first. I tell the kids around me all the time, “The little things ARE the big things.” We grow in virtue by doing day-to-day things. Things like kids who want to have a pet sometimes need to prove they are ready to take care of it, by proving they are responsible by doing other things like keeping their room clean and helping with house work. That is actually growing in virtue!

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in virtue, adding it to your faith. He has big plans for you, not just later but right now, and needs you to be prepared.

Which pet is better, a dog or a cat? Which cookie is better, chocolate chip, or peanut butter? Which color is better, red, or yellow?  Everyone is going to have different answers to these questions. So who is right, and who is wrong? No one! The answers to these questions are all based on opinions.

When we go to the big shopping center in our town, my husband likes to take the straightest way there. But I don’t like that way, because there are so many stoplights. He doesn’t like driving the way I go because there are so many turns onto lots more streets. Who is right, and who is wrong? Neither one of us is right or wrong. We are just different.

It is very easy to get upset with people who do things differently than we do. We compare ourselves to each other. That isn’t a good thing to do. God tells us we are actually being unwise when we compare ourselves (2 Corinthians 10:12).

God has made you very special. You are unique. There is no one like you on this earth. God did that on purpose. He wanted someone exactly like you! Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Don’t let other kids make you think you have to be like them, or to like the same things they like. Be exactly who God created you to be. Say it out loud with me, “God made me special, and He made me wonderful!”

 

Kidz Korner is part of Crown of Glory Ministries. If you would like to read more Kidz Korner blogs, click here.

There are two holidays that get most of us more excited than any others – Christmas and our birthday. What do those two holidays have in common? PRESENTS! It makes sense to give presents to someone to celebrate the day they were born. But have you ever wondered why we exchange presents at Christmas time?

Shortly after Jesus was born, some very important men (called Magi) from a faraway country traveled to give baby King Jesus some very special and extremely expensive gifts (Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11). They were acknowledging what an incredible gift God was giving to us, by sending Jesus here on earth to be a human, living a perfect life, able to die to pay the for the price for our sins. We don’t really know exactly what day Jesus was born, but for all kinds of reasons I won’t go into, December 25^th was picked on our calendar to be the day we remember and celebrate it.

So, the purpose of Christmas isn’t to get (or give) presents. The purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. And since we can’t wrap up and give a present to Jesus like the Magi did, we give them to those we love and are special to us.

Christmas is a birthday celebration of the most important person ever born on this earth! In our  family, every year we even have a cake that says, “Happy Birthday Jesus”. I hope you and your family will find ways to remember the greatest gift ever given at Christmas time. It’s not a Christmas gift, but a birthday gift – a gift from the birthday boy to every one of us!

Changes are difficult. Sometimes we resist change in our lives, like if we have to sell our house and move away from our friends and start going to a different school.  But often those changes bring good things into our lives.  Especially when God is behind the changes.

It is like a kernel of corn that gets turned into a corn flake. That corn has to be picked, and smashed, and baked to be put in a cereal box for our breakfast. Would you rather eat a hard piece of corn from a field without even cooking it, or would you rather eat the corn after it has gone through all the changes to become corn flakes?

Changes in our lives can be hard to go through, but it can become something very good in our lives. Maybe when someone moves, it puts them in a new church where they learn how to move in the power of the Holy Spirit, or they meet the person they will marry someday.

We know it is important to trust our parents. They protect us, and they take care of us and they bless us with things like ice cream and birthday presents. God is our Father in heaven, and He does the same thing. He protects us, takes care of us, and blesses us with good things. And sometimes there has to be difficult changes in our lives for these things good to happen.

Psalm 13:5 says, “I have trusted in Your loving-kindness. My heart will be full of joy because You will save me.” Change is hard, but when we trust in God, it can become something better than we had, and even become something great!

How many of you like oranges? Imagine I have an orange and start peeling it. It smells so good! I bite into a section and you can see how juicy it is. Do you want a piece? Wait a minute… I also have some candy. Would you rather have a piece of my orange or my candy?

Candy will give quick energy. It tastes good, but it isn’t something healthy or nutritious for your body. The orange will also give you energy and tastes good, but it has nutrition your body needs and is good for you. Choosing the orange means you are making a very wise decision.

Life is full of choices. Many things we can choose will bring us immediate pleasure, but aren’t good for us. Some choices may not look or sound as good, but are actually better for us. The older you get, the more times you will find people who don’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of them trying to pressure you into making the choice that has something you gain right away, but keeps you from God’s blessings, and may even be harmful for you in ways you can’t see at the time.

God loves you, and He can see things you can’t see. He gave you His Spirit so that you won’t be fooled into making bad choices. Make sure you pay attention to Him and do what will make you strong in your spirit, which is much more important than anything else you can choose. Read James 1:5 for an awesome promise from God.