Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

THE BIRD NEST (a true story) Little Tommy was five years old. He loved playing outside. But Tommy had one problem. Sometimes he was very mean. He often hurt animals, his grandparents, and others who made him mad. Tommy was like this because his stepmother had been very mean to him. Tommy's grandma was always trying to help him understand that he should not be mean. But Tommy didnt listen. He got so bad, that he started being very mean to his grandma, and often did things to hurt the little puppies they had. Tommy lived with his grandparents because his daddy lived far away and couldnt care for him, but his daddy came to see him as often as he could. Little Tommy could be such a sweet little boy when he wanted to be. But then for no reason at all, Tommy could be very bad. One day he was outside playing, and his grandma went into the house to get him something to drink. While she was getting his drink, she heard a loud banging noise. She ran outside to see what he was doing. When grandma got outside, she couldnt believe what Tommy had done! Every year, the same birds came to grandma's house and built a bird nest above her front porch. They had done the same thing this year. Tommy had watched the birds make their nest, do he knew there would be baby birds soon. The year before, every chance Tommy got, he would throw things up at the tiny birds in the nest. Grandma had spanked him and told him not to hurt the baby birds. But one day, Tommy threw a rock at the nest. One of the little birds fell out of the nest onto the hard driveway. The little bird lay there not moving. Grandpa went over and picked up the little bird. It had died when it hit the hard driveway. Tommy didnt say he was sorry, but he acted a little sad. Grandpa and Grandma hoped that Tommy had learned a valuable lesson that day, and wouldn't ever hurt baby birds again. Grandpa had put a tall pole in the yard this year, and hung a birdfeeder on it. This way, the mommy bird wouldnt have to go far to find feed for her babies, once they were born. While Grandma was in the house getting Tommy's drink, he had pulled the big pole out of the ground. The awful banging noise that grandma had heard, was Tommy hitting the top of the porch. He had purposely knocked the eggs out of the bird nest. Three tiny bird eggs fell to the concrete and smashed open. In just a few seconds, Tommy had destroyed the nest and the eggs. The mommy and daddy bird flew up to the nest, time after time. They were very sad by what they saw. Now they wouldnt have any baby birds to feed and teach how to fly when they got older. The mommy bird just kept flying up to the nest, then back to the ground. She just couldnt believe that the eggs were gone! Grandma was very sad too, and Grandpa was very upset with Tommy. Finally after his grandma had talked with him and after she explained why he shouldnt have done what he did, Tommy said he sorry. But no matter what anyone said or did, the eggs were broken. Now, there would be no cute little baby birds. Jesus watches over all the birds and animals. He knows when each one gets hurt or dies. He watches over us too, and is sad when we get hurt. He is also sad when we hurt the things that He has created. We should always be kind to people and animals, and do things that make Jesus smile. Jesus wants us to be good, but He also understands that sometimes we are bad. And even though it makes Him sad when we are naughty, He loves us even when we are bad, because He knows that we aren't perfect and sometimes we make mistakes. He is aware that sometimes, we all listen to the devil's lies. And once in awhile we do things that we shouldnt. The devil is very bad. There is nothing good about him. So when you hear him whispering in your ear, telling you to be mean, or to do something bad, don't listen to him! The devil is the bad guy. Jesus is good and never does anything bad. When you get bad thoughts, remember that these thoughts come from the devil. He wants to hurt us, and he uses us to hurt others. Anytime you hear him telling you to be bad, just say this out loud. "Devil, Jesus says, you get away from me!" The devil will leave and so will the bad thougths. If you just remember to say this. Jesus is hundreds of times more powerful then the devil. The devil has to obey Jesus, and he has to leave you alone when Jesus tells him to do so. Every day when you climb out of bed, say a little prayer. Ask Jesus to allow you have a good day, and to put angels all about you to keep you safe. And, ask Him to help you be good and not mean. Don't forget to tell Jesus that you love Him. He loves you more than anyone else ever could! --Tara Hart

Don't Forget!