It is awesome to me that Adam and Eve were created to be "cultivators of the soil." Farmers. That's what they were. There is just something special about being out with nature.

Okay. By now you know that here comes another farm story. Better than that, another chicken story.

Last week I was out in the yard taking a break from studying. It must have been around ten in the morning. The chicken yard is in the back of the house. Something I had heard almost daily had now taken on a different sound. It had only been a few minutes since I was in the chicken house checking on their feed and water. I had noticed one of my little white hens sitting in the laying box in the process of laying an egg. They usually go in one or two at a time to do this job. All of a sudden, as if shocked into discovery, the little white hen let out the loudest cackling you've ever heard. I believe you could have heard it from anywhere on the place. After she had sung a few bars of the tune, all the other chickens, even the roosters, joined in the feathered chorus. Everyone in the chicken yard got involved. What an awesome sound!

As I listened to all this goings on, I decided to go out and inspect a little more closely what was happening. When I entered the gate, some of them lost their song. After all, I wasn't singing their song, so some of them quit. As I entered the chicken house the little white hen was coming off the nest. Sure enough, there it was. A beautiful, perfect, white egg. By this time she was prancing back and forth singing at the top of her beak and the hens that were still in the house were singing backup. She was so proud! Every one of the other hens were just as proud. Everyone in the house was involved. What an awesome sight and sound!

Being of the inquisitive nature that I am, I decided to listen a little more carefully. When I went back in I noticed that one of the little red hens had taken her place on her nest. A few minutes later she broke out in song. As before, the whole crowd broke into their anthems of praise and pride. Once again the chicken yard was alive with joy over the accomplishments one ole hen.

Repeatedly throughout the morning they sang these songs of joy with one another. Everyone got involved over the victory of the other. First the laying hen would announce her victory and instantly the rest of the family would get involved.

Ever since 5:30 AM I had been pouring myself into the Bible. All of a sudden it hit me. God was teaching me and my instructor was a chicken! A chicken, mind you! It all began to fit. That's what God's people ought to be like. When God gives us a victory we ought to cackle about it. We need to let the rest of the family know. Maybe we don't praise Him enough as His family because too many of us leave our nest unannounced. If God gives me a victory and it is not enough to excite me, how can I expect others around me to get excited about it? If there is not enough appreciation within me to cackle about it, how will others know of the victory?

Here they are... some of the most unintelligent creatures on the face of the earth and they understand and practice something that we don't. They know how to announce their victory. They know how to get praise going through the whole chicken yard.

Perhaps you and I need to spend more time around the chicken yard! Maybe they can give us a little help.

THE FRONT-DOOR RULE... Help people find their classes or a seat in the auditorium. If they have trouble, they may not return.

THE TEN-FOOT RULE... Greet anyone with whom you are not familiar who comes within ten feet of you. Make eye contact. Be friendly.

THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE... Take the first five minutes after services to seek out guests and greet them. Encourage them to return and thank them for being here. After you have greeted our guests, you will still have opportunity to talk to your friends.

Our attitude will often determine if visitors return. Do your part to make sure they really feel welcome and appreciated. That person or family who makes the effort to visit us in our buildings ought to be greatly APPRECIATED by every member of the local church. Each one has a precious soul that we should want saved and this ought to motivate our every attitude and action toward them. 

THE GIFT OF LISTENING...

But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

THE GIFT OF AFFECTION...

Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER...

Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”

THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE...

It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT

A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super Job or “That was a wonderful meal,” can make someone’s day.

THE GIFT OF A FAVOR...

Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE...

There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION...

The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it’s not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care. 

Skepticism scoffs at faith and lays the ills of the world at the feet of religion.  The scoffing, scorning skeptic says that most of the world's wars are created by "religious" people contending for their god.  Do away with the false concept of a divine being, rid people's minds of such ignorance, superstition, and blind devotion, and the world will be a safer, less volatile place.
For once, I agree, at least in part, with the skeptics!  No, of course, we cannot deny the Creator of heaven and earth.  However, false religion and false rituals, in the name of false gods, have created havoc and heartache. ”What about the Crusades?  Weren't they fought by Christians, by the authority of Christ?”  No, for Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (Jn 18:36).  Did the religion of Christ create the cruelty of the Crusades?  No, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal"  (2 Cor. 10:3, 4).

False priests, preachers, and prophets may have started wars and created human misery, but to condemn all religion because of impostures is parallel to the man who refuses all medical treatment because a "quack" doctor made him feel worse.  A crooked lawyer must not be used to define the usefulness of worthy counsel.

True faith is not the problem.  It is the solution, the only solution.  The frightening belligerence of barbaric, religious men does not discredit God and godliness.  Rather, it shows the need for truth and righteousness.  A denial of God and his word does not solve the problems of this world.  If God were eliminated from all faith and all Bibles were burned, there is not a single sordid, sinful thing that would be abolished.  The darkness would only deepen. (And, if it did, why would it matter?  If there be no God, there are no rules.  So, why gripe and grumble?  Why is it wrong to kill and to pillage and plunder if there be no God?  If there is no God, I may kill you with as little concern as I would swat a mosquito.)

What these present, perilous times reveal is that we need more, not less, of "the words of truth and soberness."  Yes, false religion has brought us mayhem, murder and massacre.  But, beneath the blood stained banner of the Prince of Peace, it is his pure religion that alone can give us hope for our hearts and rest unto our souls.