We were made to be “special”…is that the same as Super???

 

 

Hi Everyone;

I bet you thought that I had given up on blogging….since I haven’t written anything for over a month! No excuses will suffice, except that I didn’t seem to have the time to sit down and…think! But, that time is over and I am back at it again! So here goes…

When I last blogged in December I was pondering the topic of being Super. I mentioned that in my life every time I began to think that I was Super it lead to disaster in one form or another! So is there a problem with being Super…or just a problem with my definition of Super? That lead me to check to see if the Bible says anything about being Super and to my surprise it does….well sort of!

The Bible tells us that each of us is Special…designed by God Himself to do a job for Him…especially selected just for us! (Ephesians 2:10) Well…if that’s not Super…I don’t know what is!

The trouble is that we don’t cling close enough to God or dig enough into His Word to find out what that Special Job is. We define our sence of “special” by the world’s standard and that doesn’t usually match the standard set by God. That was Scruffy’s problem, he felt that in order to prove his worth that he had to show-off…to hop higher, fly further, protect better than anyone else around him…but that wasn’t the right way to be Superspecial.  Nellie (his mom) told this story to give an example of being Super in action…

“Scruffy lay dejectedly in his pen, all alone, afraid to face anyone. Nellie knew that he was sad, so she snuggled close. After a while she spoke, “Scruffy, don’t be so hard on yourself…we all make mistakes, but these mistakes help us to grow…they build character. Never doubt that the Maker has made you special, perhaps not to be the SuperScruff that you wanted to be, but Super enough to do the job that He put you here to do.”…”The Maker’s idea of being Super is not the same as yours, so perhaps you should rethink what it means to be Super. He says that to be Super in His kingdom you have to be the servant of all…you have to be willing sacrifice yourself for others. Your type of Super was to be a show-off just to make yourself look better than others…do you see the difference? she bleated.  Hmmm, let me think of an example….Do you remeber seeing the pond at the end of the pasture?”

“Yes…the Scruffkids and I almost fell in when we slid down the slippery bank while checking it out.”

“Well you weren’t the only curious ones! All of the piglets checked it out, too, but with their pudgy little legs they weren’t able to stop themselves from sliding into the water. And they weren’t made for swimming.”

“What happened, Mom!”

“Well, Billyboy heard them squealing and so he yelled for Papa to come quickly and then dove into the pond to rescue them. Between the two of them, they managed to pull all of the piglets safely out of the water! Nellie exclaimed. ”

Nellie goes on to tell Scruffy that Billyboy didn’t bother telling anyone about this escapade, he just carried on with his other chores, despite the fact that he was a hero.

That story introduces the topic of what makes a person special. We know that scripture tells us that each of us is special and has a special purpose…but not all are called to do the same job…to be special in the same way…some may be quiet heros, like Billyboy, others will do seemingly inconsequential tasks that make a big impact, for God.  In the next few blogs I will share some real life stories of people showing how special they are…how they were  sometimes “shaped” by adversity for a task that our Maker had designed for them….stay tuned.

See you next time

Lynn

P.S. I would love to hear your stories…How has God impacted your life…How have you been used for His purposes and tell me if I can share it with other…send me an email …plynnhalliday@gmail.com

Goodread Give-a-way

Hi Everyone

Over the month of December I participated in a Goodreads Give-a-way contest! A total of 668 people participated in this event and 8 people were chosen to receive copies of Scruffy Finds His Way or SuperScruff!

A big thank you to all of you who participated in this event and congrats to the 8 winners…I hope that you enjoy the books and will share your review with us!

I look forward to hearing from you…and from anyone who has read my books! Please consider sharing your experience with Scruffy. You can do this by sending an email or by going to the “contact” page of my website!

Thanks again

Lynn

Andis kids books – a review

**My thoughts**
In an age where we are inundated with superheroes, it’s kind of nice to have a story that talks about what a superhero actually is. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do love me some Marvel. But you have to look beyond the superhuman feats that these characters perform and into who they are within, what kinds of morals they value. And this story seeks to teach children to look within to be a super person that way.
 
This is the second story in the series and it sounds like our little friend had quite the adventure in the first one. We don’t get too much detail about what happened in that first story, but it isn’t necessary to enjoy reading this one. Though you may want to go back and read the first one after this one.
 
It does have a biblical focus that ties into its lessons. So this would be good to discuss with a small church group or even at home with your elementary-aged children. The cover does make it look like it’s more of a picture book geared toward younger children, but it is a sort of mini chapter book.
 
Scruff learns his lesson as he tries (and fails) to perform superhuman [supergoat?] feats to impress the other animals on the farm. Kids will get a kick out of reading those.
 
The only part I didn’t care for was when he ran away in fear from his mother, who was upset with him, “rolling pin in hand.” That’s not something that most people would use for discipline these days. But of course, she doesn’t use it on him.
 
Otherwise, I think kids will enjoy this story and learn a lot from it.