The Princess and the Kiss - by Jennie Bishop

One day a king and queen celebrated the birth of a baby girl, their princess.  Her parents loved her so much.  They thanked God for His precious gift, and God gave the princess a very special gift as well.  The king and queen kept the princess' special gift in a safe place.  When she was grown, they took her to the room where the gift was hidden and protected.  The queen told the princess that God loved her very much and had given her this special gift on the day she was born.  The king warned, "Be wise, and save it for the man you will marry."  The princess would often go to the secret room.  She would gaze at her precious gift, and wonder how she would ever be able to give it away.  She had never before received such a wonderful present.  

Many princes came to ask for the princess' hand in marriage.  One prince had great strength; one prince offered travel to faraway places; another prince brought costly jewels and clothes.  But the princess did not find any of these men worthy of her special gift from God.  The princess began to worry.  Would she find no one with whom she could share her precious gift?  The queen reminded her daughter that God could be trusted to show her what was best.  And even if no husband came, the gift would be hers to treasure forever.  
One day a young, handsome farmer came to the castle and asked to speak with the princess.  He was not like the other men who had come to call.  The farmer bowed before the king and queen and asked to speak to the princess.  The royal couple was surprised that this common farmer would come to see their daughter.  But he seemed to be a kind, humble man, so they gave their permission.  


The farmer told the princess how he felt about her.  It was as though he knew she had been saving her special gift.  The he said, "I have a very special gift I have saved for you."  When the princess saw the gift, she knew the farmer was to be her husband!  The farmer asked the princess to marry him, and the princess said, "Yes!"  The royal family was so happy that she had saved her gift for this kind, gentle man.  The farmer rejoiced because God had given him a beautiful bride to whom he could give his own gift.  On their wedding day, the princess and her husband exchanged the gifts God had given each of them on the day they were born.  What were the gifts?  Each received their first kiss - a kiss that had been saved to give on this wonderful day.  The wise and happy prince and princess soon had a baby daughter of their very own.  And on the day of the baby's birth, her parents received for her a very special gift from God. 

The End

Even though this story may seem young for you, it is relevant to anyone and everyone at any age or stage of life.  I first heard this story when I was pretty young, but it has stuck with me ever since.  I hope you all liked it as much as I do! 

Valentines Day Fun Facts!

The World's Valentine Fun Facts:

• In order of popularity, Valentine's Day cards are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.

• Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given for Valentine's Day each year.

• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

God's Valentine Fun Fact:

For God so loved the world 

     that he gave his 

   one and only son that 

            whoever 

     believes in him 

        shall not 

              perish but have 

            eternal 

               life

http://www.stvalentinesday.org/valentines-day-fun-fact.html

A Little Christmas Trivia

Did You Know. . .

• A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard
• According to a 1995 Christmas survey, 7 out of 10 dogs get Christmas gifts from their doting owners
• Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday.  This tradition began in 1836
• An average house in America will mail out 28 Christmas cards each year, and see 28 cards return in their place
• California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the top Christmas tree producing states. Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees - 8.6 million in 1998.
• Animal Crackers are not really crackers, but cookies that were imported to the United States from England in the late 1800s. Barnum's circus-like boxes were designed with a string handle so that they could be hung on a Christmas tree.

http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/xmastrivia.html

Verse of the Month

John 3:16
For God so loved the whole world, that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

I know this is a very common verse, but it is really important.  With this verse, you can explain a lot of things, and answer some seemingly though questions.
1) Why did God let Jesus die on the cross?
2) Why didn't Jesus get himself off the cross?
3) Who gave us everlasting life?
There are many more questions and answers you could get from this verse.  The verse itself is seemingly simple, but God's love for us is very complex!  We should be grateful for his love for us.

Verse of the Month

Jeremiah 33:3
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

When we pray, we sometimes ask God for things we need, or maybe we just tell Him about our day.  It shouldn't have to be a one way conversation though, we also need to take time to read His word and listen to what He has to say to us.

3 Interesting Facts about Easter

1)  Did you know, that when Jesus died on the cross, the bodies of many holy people that had died came back to life?  Look it up!  Matthew 27:51-53

2)  Did you know that the man who buried Jesus was waiting for the kingdom of God?  Look it up!
Mark 15:43

3)  Did you know that the veil that was torn in the temple was approximately 4 inches thick, 60 feet high, and that horses pulling from both sides of it could not have torn it?!  http://www.gotquestions.org/temple-veil-torn.html There is huge significance in this because before this only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year.  After the veil was torn, anybody was able to go in.  We do not have to have a mediator between God and man.  We can just talk to God without a thick veil in front of us because if our sins are forgiven, he sees us as made righteous, and we can stand in his holy presence.

Verse of the Month

Luke 23:39-43
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:  "Aren't you the Christ?  Save yourself and us!"  But the other criminal rebuked him.  "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

I was listening to a sermon this past Sunday, and the pastor was preaching on this text, and he pointed out that when the second criminal says, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong."  The criminal is admitting that he has done wrong and the punishment that he is getting is what he deserves.  When he says, "This man has done nothing wrong" the criminal is realizing that Jesus really is who he says he is.  Do we realize that Jesus is really who he says he is?