Be kind and loving to each other.

—Ephesians 4:32

Check Your Head for What You’ve Read

1. What did Mother suggest Elaina do so she wouldn’t be bored anymore?

2. How did Joy and Elaina help their mother with their cookie-baking project?

3. When we do good things for other people, we make them happy. Who else is made happy?

One day some of Jesus’ friends had a dinner for Him. Martha fixed the food. But Mary did something that surprised everyone: she poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, then wiped His feet with her long hair.

Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would later betray Jesus, complained about what Mary had done. He said she should have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor. But Jesus said Mary was right to have done this special thing for Him, because He wouldn’t be with them much longer.

If we wait to do nice things for people, we may never get the chance to do them!

Find this story in John 12.

When You Pray, Day by Day


Ask God:

• to help you be alert for ways you can do special things for people—especially elderly people
• to help you want to do acts of kindness today, because tomorrow may be too late.

Thank God for making you happy when you do nice things for others.

Home-baked items—such as cookies—make great gifts. And they can be quite easy to make (with the help of an adult!). Why not give the following recipe a try?

Bake a batch of ginger snaps! Following the recipe below, make some cookies to share. These cookies look great and taste even better!


Ingredients


3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt the shortening over low heat in a 3- or 4-quart saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat. Let it cool. Then add the sugar, molasses, and egg. Beat the mixture well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add this to the first mixture. Mix it well and chill in the refrigerator.

Form the dough into one-inch diameter balls. Roll the balls in granulated sugar and place them two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies in a moderately hot oven (375º F) for eight to ten minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool. They’re ready to eat!
Note: The elderly and shut-ins will appreciate your visit even more than your cookies! So plan to stay for a few minutes to talk with them.

(This excerpt is taken from Beginning with God: My Very Own Devotional by Steve T. Barclift. For more information about this book and the author, click here.)