Sign up for our free newsletter:

I once shared my job as school secretary with a terrific lady named Julie. When she quit, I took over full time in the office.

One little guy—a first-grader—stopped by the office nearly every day at noon for a week. He would come in, peer over the counter, look puzzled, then walk out again. Finally, one day I asked the boy if he needed some help.

"Where's the nice secretary?" he asked.

I laughed, but took it as a gentle reminder to be a bit sweeter in spite of the job's stresses.

—Doris Johnson
Hughenden, Alberta

My niece's mother Heidi had been teaching Amanda colors, letters, numbers, and body parts in preparation for the kindergarten entry test.

Amanda had no trouble with any of the questions until the teacher asked, "What lights up the day?"

She thought for a second, then smiled, and said with certainty, "Jesus lights up the day."

Of course, Amanda passed the test and made her mom proud.

—Tonia King
Lake Stevens, Washington

My husband and I were young parents of three on a tight budget. After surviving measles, mumps, and chicken pox—times three—my nerves were frayed. Wonderfully for us, Pop and Mom agreed to babysit so we could get away.

"Why are we going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa?" four-year-old Nick, our oldest, asked his father.

"Because your mother needs a rest. I'm taking her away someplace to rest."

We packed up their things and took them to south San Francisco where their grandfather pastored. Of course, they were fussed over after the service on Sunday morning.

"What darling children. Where are your parents?" one person asked Nick.

Nick looked for help, but Grandad was shaking hands, and Grandmom was in the choir loft pumping out the postlude.

Finally, he said earnestly, "They went to their resting place."

—Cherise Wyneken
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

After a recent dinner of Chinese take-out, my family read our fortunes aloud. My two-old daughter pretended to read hers, too.

"What does your fortune cookie say, Allison?" I asked.

She replied with the first line of her favorite song, "Jesus loves me this I know." What a wonderful fortune!

—Debbie Masek
Brookfield, Illinois

My mom was preparing to give her five-year-old niece Kelly her first home permanent. On the back of the children's perm kit were three pictures of little girls modeling soft curls, ringlets, and waves.

"Which one do you want to look like, Kelly?" Mom asked.

After a moment, Kelly pointed to the girl with soft curls and said, "I want her hair, but I'd like to keep my own face."

—R.P. Futrelle
Mount Olive, North Carolina

When my friend's daughter Bonnie was five years old, she overheard her mother on the telephone discussing the loss of another "pillar" of their church. This was the second such conversation her daughter had heard recently, prompting her to ask, "Mommy, just where do we keep all those pillows at the church, anyhow?"

—Barbara Outlaw Lee
Goldsboro, North Carolina

One Sunday morning when I led the "children's moment" at church I used the term, "the 3 R's" before realizing the children might not know what I meant.

"Can anyone tell me what the '3 R's' stand for?" I asked.

Kevin O'Connor, always the first to respond, raised his hand. "Rinse, reuse, recycle."

—James West
Tempe, Arizona

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
Click here for reprint information.

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try Today's Christian Woman Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift Order a gift subscription!

FREE Newsletter Subscribe to the Today's Christian Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help