“But I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” -John 15:15 (NAS) I sat on the playground with my. granddaughter Grace-her invited guest at an autumn class picnic. How are you liking your new school?” I asked. It’s not the easiest thing to move to a new locale when you’re going into first grade. When you’ve lived in small-town Alaska and gone to preschool and kindergarten at the same rural site. You land in the “big city” and, come September, must walk into a building populated many times over from what you’ve known. “Well,” Grace said with a faraway look, “at first when I played outside, on the swing I wished I could fly high up into the sky and get on an airplane and go back to Alaska. But now I don’t want to go back- because I have friends,” Friends are so important that Jesus surrounded Himself with them in His three-year public ministry. He dined in homes, attended weddings, had traveling companions, held children, spent hours in conversation with others. He immersed Himself in the lives of people and welcomed many of them into His life. In fact, He felt so strongly about no one being alone that He taught “I was a stranger and you invited Me in” (Matthew 25:35). He said that to whomever we extend friendship, it is as though we have befriended Him. Offering friendship-particularly for someone who might otherwise be alone-is nothing short of royal service for the King! Thanks, Lord, for looking out for a little girl who needed a friend. Keep me on the lookout for someone I can “invite in” through the welcoming act of friendship.              . -Carol Knapp Digging Deeper: Proverbs 27:10; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Matthew 25:34-40 DAILY GUIDEPOSTS   DEAR PASTOR (letters from the kids)   Dear Pastor, Please pray for all the airline pilots. I am flying to California tomorrow. Laurie.  Age 10,  New York City   Dear Pastor, I hope to go to heaven someday but later than sooner. Love, Ellen, age 9. Athens   Dear Pastor, Please say a prayer for our Little League team. We need God’s help or a new pitcher.  Thank you.  Alexander. Age 10, Raleigh   Dear Pastor, My father says I should learn the Ten Commandments. But I don’t think I want to because we have enough rules already in my house.  Joshua. Age 10, South Pasadena

As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. -Galatians 6:10 (NIV) What just happened? Working on my computer; I simultaneously hit three keys that together provided a shortcut for a long dash. My fingers had made this maneuver a dozen times a day, for years. But this once, my right hand slipped and fell short of its mark I hit a wrong key and, in a blink, my entire computer screen turned ninety degrees clockwise. I gasped. I gulped. I stared. But in that moment, when my world turned upside down, I didn’t panic. Several age-old coping mechanisms kicked in. I prayed for guidance. “God, what do I do now?” Then I posed and answered a question that lingered from my childhood: if my dad were here, what would he do? If he knew a problem’s solution was beyond his ken, he’d reach outside of his four walls to a wider network: his church friends, professional colleagues, fix-it neighbors, or local business owners. The community, working together, would usually find answers. Those were simpler days, some will say. And they’re right. Friends are preoccupied and expect us to Google our own questions. We may not feel connected with fellow parishioners or neighbors. We frequent fewer small, friendly mom-and-pop hardware stores or repair shops. But I went ahead and gave it a try, relying on my personal network. The first friend I called provided a quick fix, giving me three key strokes that set my screen aright. “Oh, Dan, thank you!” I exuded. “If I can ever be of help, let me know. One good turn deserves another.” God, remind us to appreciate and value the networks that help stabilize our daily lives. -Evelyn Bence Digging Deeper: Romans 15:1-7 DAILY GUIDEPOSTS   * The first Southern expression to creep into a transplanted Northerner’s vocabulary is the adjective “big’ol,” truck or “big’ol” boy. Most Northerners begin their Southern-influenced dialect this way. All of them are in denial about it. * If you hear a Southerner exclaim, “Hey, ya’ll, watch this,” stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he’ll ever say. * When you come up on a person driving 15 mph down the middle of the road, remember that most folks learn to drive on a John Deere, and that is the proper speed and position for that vehicle. *If you do settle in the South and bear children, don’t think that they will be accepted as Southerners.

CONFIDENCE IN DIFFICULTY: Led by a Sovereign Teacher ‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things …. “-John 14:26 (NIV) My son John came in from walking the dog. “We have an audience it the. hallway,” he said drily. That wasn’t surprising: his sister Maggie was blisteringly, bellowing threats. The doctor in Connecticut had sent her home after two days, suggesting she attend a therapeutic wilderness program instead. “She’s had a traumatic hospital experience and will do better in a different kind of setting. It will only take a coupIe of days to get in,” he advised, “and she’s psychiatrically stable.”                Except she was not stable, as we-and now our neighbors-knew. I was applying four self-reminders I’d learned in twelve years of managing Johns mood swings and anxiety to keep from having to call 911.

  I did all this, yet things were getting scary. “Holy Spirit, show me how,” I pleaded in a split second between eruptions. On cue, I remembered I was hearing the illness talking, not my daughter. Almost imperceptibly, the tide began to turn. I listened better, responded better, focused better After more than an hour of intense effort, Maggie’s rage tapered off. I breathed out a silent thank-you and thought back to the years when Johns  mood swings and anxiety had caused our family so much distress. I, could see now that something else had happened during that time: I‘d been prepared for surviving today.   Thank You, Lord, for every hard lesson I never wanted It) -Julia Attaway Digging Deeper: Psalm 119:77; 2 Corinrhi.ms 12: 10  DAILY GUIDEPOSTS   Real Differences Between Northerners And Southeners * If you run your car into a ditch, don’t panic. Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly. Don’t try to help them, just stay out of their way. This is what they live for. It’s really best to give “em a generous tip, though. * Don’t be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store. Warning: Do not buy food at this store, everything is kept in the same fridge and mix-ups are easy. * Get used to hearing “You ain’t from round here, are ya?” * You may hear a Southerner say “Ought!” to a dog or child. This is short for “Ya’ll ought not do that!” and is the equivalent of saying “No!” * Don’t be worried at not understanding what people are saying. They can’t understand you either.

The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not L the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” -Exodus 4:II-I2 (NIV) It’s my first semester of law school. The lecture hall is stifling because of the seventy students crammed into it. I lean over my casebook, highlighter cap between my teeth, and I strike the text with neon blue. Let’s take a look at the dissent,” the professor says. “Why don’t you walk us through the argument, Mr. Eliasen?” The cap falls from my mouth, My face burns. It’s not that I’m unprepared. I read the case three times last night. But I’m a quiet person, and seventy sets of eyes are on me now. I’m humble; it’s one of my better qualities. But sometimes our greatest strengths don’t dwell far from our deepest weaknesses. My humility borders a place where feelings of inadequacy lurk and I can sense those thoughts in the back of my mind: You’re too quiet. You don’t have anything worth saying. You’re not a speaker: Then I think of Moses. The man who stood before the fiery presence of God and explained that he was too terrified to speak to a human king. “I will teach you what to say,” promised God. I flip the pages of my casebook and then dear my throat. I’m ready to reject my fear of inadequacy. I’m ready to claim God’s promise. Father; I’m so grateful that I can trust You to fill my mouth with words. –Logan Eliasen Digging Deeper: Jeremiah 1:6-8; Luke 12:11-12 DAILY GUIDEPOSTS     DEAR PASTOR (letters from the kids)   Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville.  Dear Pastor, Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson.  Sincerely, Pete. Age 9, Phoenix   Dear Pastor, My father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert  Anderson, age 11   Dear Pastor, I’m sorry I can’t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn’t give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance?  Love, Patty. Age 10, New Haven