Day 237- A Super Ball First

The family and I went to Mobile for our dentist check-up today.  That's right, all 4 of us went to have our teeth cleaned and a check-up. We go to Mobile for insurance reasons. I was the only one that did not have a cavity.  The lady that cleaned my teeth did say I needed to floss better.  I said yes mam knowing that meant I needed to floss.  At one point, she was yanking so hard with that little ice pick thing that I started to tell her that if she wanted to pull my tooth she probably should get some pliers. However, since she still had that sharp metal thing in my mouth, I refrained from saying anything.

While we were there, Laura had some coupons for Old Navy and Michael's.  That's a real shocker.  When we went to Old Navy, the family bought super balls (some people call them bouncy balls but that's a bit feminine for the blog) from the gum ball machine.  I bought an extra one to give away to someone.  Joel and I were bouncing the ball to each other in the store aisle and I spotted a young boy about 5 years old watching us.  I held the ball up and tried to ask him with my eyes if he wanted to play. He ran to his Mom.  A few minutes later he peered around the clothes rack at us with a big grin on his face. I motioned like I was going to roll the ball to him and he ran back to his Mom.  When Laura announced she was ready to check out (I think I heard the Hallelujah chorus break out) I went and found this little boy with his Mom. I asked her if it would be all right if I gave him a super ball. She said sure and told the little boy to say thank you.  He took the ball and said thank you. I guess since his Mom said it was OK he figured I was safe. I gave away a super ball for my "first" today.  This was a lot more fun that following Laura around and asking, "How much longer do you reckon this is going to take?"

Duct tape girl

Just one cup of coffee in the morning is enough for me

Laura found 2 shirts for Joel and 2 for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes and spent $5

It was fun to look around the store for someone who might enjoy a super ball. I got this idea from a guy in our church that said whenever he goes to Old Navy he usually buys a super ball and plays with it while his family shops. Then, when they get ready to leave, he gives it away.  When I heard that it sounded like a good idea for a "first."   Joel went with me to give away the super ball but he kind of hid behind a clothes rack in case it did not go well. 

This "first" was good fun.  The thing that I thought about as I did this "first" was that I probably would never have thought of this if my buddy at church had not shared about doing this.  This is a great way that the body of Christ helps each other.  When we gather together, we are to encourage each  other to do good deeds. Hebrews 10: 24-25 says (NLT), "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."  As we meet together as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can learn so much from each other.  So many of the things that I do that God uses to help me get closer to Him I've learned from someone else in the family of God.  Some of our favorite habits that we have at Christmas we learned from others.  We have some meal time traditions that we probably would never have thought of on our own, but we heard someone else talk about them and we adopted their habits. When Laura was a young Christian, she had a friend that always prayed when she saw an ambulance going somewhere. Laura picked that habit up as a young believer. She has maintained it and it is now a habit of our family.  Today we saw an ambulance and we said, "There goes an ambulance, who wants to pray?"

Share the godly habits that you have developed.  Listen to others and ask God to help you pick up the habits that would be very beneficial to you.  There is always more to learn and fun new things to experience in the family of God.

Grateful for others living the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Great ideas I've learned from others
2. Encouraging friends
3. God is big enough that there is always more to learn and experience