Hi Kids World members. This week we welcome new members Andrea Lopez-Dee, Vancouver BC, Canada; Jinsol Lee, Yemen and Mary Jackson, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
QUESTION: Do you know who wrote the Acts of the Apostles? The answers to the question in the last newsletter were Perga, Athens, Miletus, Corinth and Antioch.
Our STORY this week is called "THREE TREES"
Three trees once stood on a mountain top and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!"
The second tree looked down on the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to travel mighty waters and carry powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!"
The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in the town. "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world!"
Years passed and the three little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his axe, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure" the first tree said. The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his axe, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me," he said. With a swoop of his axe the third tree fell.
The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her
to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into
a feedbox for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold,
nor filled with treasure. She was covered with sawdust and filled
with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the
woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty ship was made that day.
Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawn into a simple fishing
boat. She was too small
and too weak to sail an ocean, or even a river. Instead she was
taken to a lake. The third tree was confused when the woodcutter
cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?"
the once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted to do was to stay
on the mountain top and point to God."
Many, many days and nights passed. The three trees
nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured
over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox.
"I wish I could make a cradle for him," her husband whispered. The
mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth
and sturdy wood. "This manger
is beautiful," she said. And suddenly the first tree knew it
was holding the greatest treasure in the world.
One evening a tired traveller and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveller fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the storm. The tired man woke up. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew it was carrying the King of Kings.
One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her
beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she
was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers
nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.
But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy
beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything.
It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought
of the third tree, they would
think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in
the world.
So the next time you feel down because you didn't get what you wanted, just sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.
There are three passages in the Bible that tell of the three trees and you might like to read them. They are Luke 2:1-7, Matthew 8:23-27 and Matthew 27:32-38.
The answer to the last WORD SCRAMBLE was "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." (Psalm 69:30). Try this one, sort out the words and find the Bible reference.
SKILWEIE VEERY DOGO RETE BREAS DOGO TRUIF TUB A DAB TEER BREAS DAB TRIUF
PEN PALS: Dear Kidsworld: Hi!! My name is Ruby King.
I am 8 years old. I would like a pen pal of any age, boy or girl. I like
to play soccer, play the piano, go swimming, read, etc. I live in Ecuador.
Thanks! Ruby.
Write to Ruby in the first instance care of Kids World.
DID YOU KNOW THAT Mars is called the Red Planet because of the reflected light of the sun. The surface of Mars is made up of dry plains, mountains and craters. The redness is caused by the dust and oxidation of the rocks.
Church is beginning to look different these days - hope it does
in your church! It sounds and feels different with a special glow.
In most churches Christmas is a time of extra activities, of special programs
and events - in other words, extra opportunities for worship when our ears
are open to hear about God's eternal love for us in Jesus. The coming
of Jesus Christ at Christmas was the fulfillment of a whole history full
of God's promises beginning in the Garden of Eden and carrying on down
through the
centuries.
Our houses are beginning to look different too. Christmas decorations are coming out again as we unpack the boxes and put out our favourite things and decorate the tree. They bring back memories too of past Christmases and we wonder what our friends are doing this year, especially if we haven't heard from them for a long time.
Yet, the most important reason for decorating the way we do year after year is to announce the coming of Jesus Christ to be our Saviour! God's promises were kept in Jesus who lived and died and rose again to make them all come true.
So spend some time today as you look at the Christmas decorations or perhaps help to put them up thinking about the hope that is ours through the coming of Jesus.
QUICK QUIZ: Why does the Tower of Pisa lean? The answer
to the last quick quiz is that the Pentagon is a huge five-sided building
in Alexandria, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington DC.
It houses the American Defence Department's offices for the army, navy,
airforce and coastguard. It has 604,000 sq.m (6,500,000 sq.ft) of
floor area and you could spend all day running up and down the 28km (17.5
miles) of corridors.
When large crowds of people came to hear Jesus speak,
he could always tell how much they could understand. He knew that
many just came, hoping to see miracles performed, and he always knew when
to send them away or to leave them.
One day he had been teaching by the Sea of Galilee, when he decided that it was time to leave the crowds. So he got into a boat and asked his disciples to head for the other side of the lake, then laid down in the stern of the boat and fell asleep.
Suddenly the sky darkened and a wind began to blow. It grew so fierce that great waves rose in the lake, rocking the little boat. Even the tough fishermen were frightened. Terrified they woke Jesus and shouted to him over the howling wind: "Master, don't you care if we are all drowned?"
Jesus looked at the raging water. Then calmly he
said to the waves:
"Peace...be still." The wind suddenly stopped blowing, the waves flattened
out and the boat lay still on the calm water. He turned to his disciples
and asked them:
"Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" The fishermen
looked at each other and said: "Who then is this, that even the wind and
waves obey him?"
Many times Jesus did such things - not to show his disciples his power, but to teach them that they must not worry about themselves, but rather believe and trust in God.
Time to run. See you on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
The Kids World Team (Matthew 18:3-5)
An e-mail from the Derwent Valley, near Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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