Tip of the Day 4/21/12

It is Saturday and today should be a day to play. Start the day by everyone doing a quick walk through of the house picking up out of place items. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast or brunch. Do something fun as a family or with friends. The time we have to step back from the demands of life is too short. Don't waste this day you have been given, you can never get it back.

 Word for Today: Steps. Since all of our daughters were adopted, the youngest at the age of three, we did not get to see them take their first steps. So, getting to see several of my grandchildren take their first steps was a very big deal. We were visiting one of our daughters in California when our first grandson took his. We were sitting in the living room with some friends who were also visiting and our daughter had left the room, and while playing with the baby he took a couple of steps. Our daughter came back in the room and he took a couple more and she exclaimed, "his first steps!" We all looked at each other and none of us said he had already taken a few. We did not want to steal that joy from her. The joy on her face was priceless. Of course after that baby takes those steps we encourage them to take more and more. Many falls are taken and usually some bruises happen, but we keep encouraging and they keep trying. If a child is not walking around the age of one the parents begin to worry. No parent purposely keeps their child from standing and walking, we give them clear paths and safe corners, and cheer them on. They trust our outstretched hands beckoning them to take another step forward, we offer comfort when they fall, and help them walk in safe paths. Our Heavenly Father also cheers as He watches His children take steps of faith, He picks us up when we stumble and fall, He comforts us, and He shows us the best paths to take. The key to it all is trust. I know He will lead me in the best way even when I can't see a way through. The children of Israel could only see the Red Sea before them and the Egyptian army gaining on them from behind, so by faith Moses stepped into the water and then the Lord parted the sea. Is there some water you need to step into? Come on, you can do it, just take that first step. Your Heavenly Father is holding out His hands and beckoning you. "My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His ways and not turned aside."