Sunday, May 6
By, Alex Tipsword

"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:9-15

We should keep the Lord's name holy and not take it in vain. We should recognize that the Lord is higher than us and that we should love Him and praise Him. We should respect that we have to wait for Jesus to come again and bring us into the Lord's kingdom. We ask Him for the necessities of life, such as food and water.

We also ask Him to forgive us our sins, as long as we forgive those who have sinned against us. We also ask Him to help us through temptation and keep us doing the right thing. We say that He is all powerful and will let us into His kingdom when the time is right.

Lord, please keep me from doing the wrong thing. Save me from evil. Help me through temptation. Supply my means for living. Please forgive my sins if I forgive others that have sinned against me. Amen.

Monday, May 7
By, Devin Tapani

"Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish in the sea, and over the birds in the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'" Genesis 1:26

God made humankind in His image, because He wanted us to have dominion over all the animals in the world. Over the fish, the birds, the cattle, and all of the wild animals and everything else.

When I read this it reminds me of all that God has given us and what He has done for us. He gives us power so we can eat these animals for food and so they don't control us.

Thank you, God, for everything you have done for us by making us in your image and giving us dominion over all the other creatures. Amen.

Tuesday, May 8
By, Mark Heikkila

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Sports is a thing that we do for fun. The more we practice, the better we get. It is almost the same with faith. The more you study and practice it, the more you learn. You are not going to start off knowing everything, so that is why practice helps. Practice makes almost perfect, because we cannot be perfect. Only God is perfect. Pro sports players practiced really hard to get where they are today.

Please help us learn easier while we practice sports and our faith. Amen.

Wednesday, May 9
By, Amanda Kemp

"See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16

"See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves." Most people think that it means He is sending you to your death, but I see it as He is sending us on an adventure. That He is asking us to trust Him. He is asking us to out-think our wits. Asking us to stretch our faith, to trust Him.

"So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." This means to me to work on our faith, to out-think our temptations, to stretch yourself to the end of your rope, tug, tug, tug that chain, yell up to the heaven and scream your faith.

Dear Lord, help us confess our wrongs. Help us stretch our faith, believe in You, dear Lord. Help us love and forgive, to not fall into temptation. Amen.

Thursday, May 10
By, Mark Heikkila

"You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.” Psalm 90:5-6

Life is too short. There is no time to waste. We must accomplish our goal within a time limit, before it is too late and we are sent to God's kingdom. Time is very valuable so don't waste it! Every time someone is taken, someone is given.

Spend your life doing good, because bad leads to jail. And jail is a big waste of time. Accomplish everything you set your mind to before you are taken, and your name will be remembered by others.

We thank you, God, for this time you gave to us. For all the food you gave to us. For the great life you gave to us. And we ask for more time in our life. Amen.

Friday, May 11
By, Jaqualyn Peterson

"God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind, cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind,' and it was so. God made the wild animals of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:24-25

When God made cats he made them to love and cuddle. He also made them to be mean sometimes. I love my cat but this morning I wanted to shoot him. He got me up at 2:00am. He got a spurt of energy and came on my bed and he sat down. He started to rub on my blinds and he made a really annoying sound.

Dear God, thank you for creating cats and giving them their personality. Amen.

Saturday, May 12
By, Amanda Kemp

"I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people." 2 Corinthians 6:16b

God lives in us. God lives with us. You may not see Him or understand "why" always, but He is always there to catch you, to comfort you, to love you when you feel no one else does. God understands you more than anyone else could. God, who is this person who thinks he can control us? He is our Abba. He is our father, dad. He is the "perfect parent." We are all brothers and sisters. Love one another with the same affection that you would love your own mother or father, sister or brother. Like it or not, He is your Dad.

Dear Abba, love us and keep us safe. Hold us and comfort us. Make us whole, take away temptation, forgive us, and shape us as you would other people into the "perfect child." Thank you, "Perfect Parent." Amen.