Beverly Joy Roberts

I've never been particularly found of the game  Musical Chairs .  It brings out a side of me that is best kept under control— at all times .  I will admit that occasionally there is a competitive spirit that rises up within me and when this happens, I must quickly bring it back into submission to the Lord.   The game  Musical Chairs  is wrong on so many levels.  We march around knowing that one person will be left wanting, but when the music stops, we push and shove to get a seat for ourselves by displacing another.  The whole point of the game is to repeat this over and over until there is only one person left in the winner's seat.  When you hear  Musical Chairs  described like this, you may wonder why we ever thought this was fun or willingly participated in such a mean-spirited game.  But, we were kids, and it's was just a game.  We'd never act like that now.  I mean, we're adults.    Right?   Or is it possible that my whole Christian life has been no

For many years, there was a poster attached to the wall above the drinking fountain at church.  There was a row of penguins lined up at the edge of a cliff and one by one they were jumping into the icy cold water. That poster served as a reminder to everyone at the drinking fountain to take turns .  Don't push ahead to the front of the line.  Don't swarm the drinking fountain in a pack.  I'd often point at the poster as a reminder to the children and say, "Look, the penguins are all waiting their turn and we should wait our turn also.  Be patient, your turn is coming." Another drinking fountain rule I establish was counting to 10 while children were getting their drinks.  I had to enforce this rule because we all know that preschoolers are part camel.  As soon as it was a child's turn at the water fountain, they stepped up and embraced the "possession is 9/10's of law" rule.    Once a child placed their hands against the cool, stainl

Once every seven years Valentine's Day falls on a Wednesday, so naturally, today we must talk about LOVE! There's a song from a timeless Disney movie that immediately comes to mind when I think of love.  The song is sung by Prince Charming and Cinderella as they dance around the palace ballroom.  The title of the song is,  So This Is Love . In true Disney fashion, the tune and the lyrics are beautiful, but I do take issue with the idea that love is born in a matter of minutes while taking a spin on the dance floor.  Yet, it is the stuff that fairy tales are made of.  But is this really love? I think not. Books, movies and music make up a million dollar industry that endeavors to persuade us... So This Is Love .  We are pressed from every side with worldly opinions of what love is and what it means to be loved.  Television and movies often depict love as cheap and expendable.  A worldly view of love is—here today and gone tomorrow.  If love doesn't work out this t

I play a game with my grandkids where we hide a small toy. Then the first one to find it gets to hide the toy the next time.  Once the toy is hidden again, we hear the call to come, whoever is playing the game just about tramples over each other to return to the hunt.   It's just a simple little toy, but the pursuit to find it is strangely powerful.  There is an urgency on the faces of my young grandchildren as they search the area for the prize.     This little game brings to mind a verse in Proverbs 21:21.  (The Message Bible) “Whoever goes hunting for what is right and kind finds life itself--glorious life!"   No one could or would debate that beautiful rewards will be found in the lives of those who choose to passionately pursue what is right and kind.  I think, when looking at this scripture, where many fall short is in the actual hunt or pursuit.  The hunt may require us to set aside our own agenda, even our personal biases and points of view as we pursue