Ben Brewer is stuck. Stuck in the blues. All he really wants--and needs--is a friend. Somebody to play with. To tell jokes and share stories with. To race up and down the street with, like the other kids do on their bikes. Tony, Ben's neighbor, has a brand new bike that he's going to ride in the neighborhood race on Saturday. But he doesn't want to go alone, so he invites Ben to come along.
What Ben doesn't know is that Tony often feels lonely. He needs a friend too.
And what neither boy knows is that God has a plan. With some heavenly help, Ben and Tony are both about to discover the friend that's been there all along.
Your children need friends. Buddies who know them inside and out, and who love them the way they are.
But just as importantly, they can be a friend.
God has given each child gifts and talents. Some are comedians. Others are listeners. Some are adventurers. Others are dreamers. Each one of them, with their strengths and weaknesses, has a unique personality with something to offer--the ability to be a friend.
As an adult you may have already learned that when we give all that we have, we not only meet another's needs, but usually our own as well. That is the wonderful paradox of God's design--we need each other. Let this beautifully illustrated story from the pages of the award-winning book "Tell Me the Truth help you share this wonderful reality with your children.
Encourage them to discover the joy that comes not only from reaching out to others, but from finding that they have a place, a purpose, a valuable role that God wants them to fulfill in someone else's life.
Joni Eareckson Tada, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Joni and Friends, is an international advocate for people with disabilities.
A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, unable to use her hands. After two years of rehabilitation, she emerged with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in similar situations.
During her rehabilitation, Joni spent long months learning how to paint with a brush between her teeth. Her high-detail fine art paintings and prints are sought-after and collected.
Her best-selling autobiography "Joni" and the feature film of the same name have been translated into many languages, introducing her to people around the world. She also has visited more than 45 countries.
She has served on the National Council on Disability and the Disability Advisory Committee to the U.S. State Department.
She is Senior Associate for Disability Concerns for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and serves in an advisory capacity to the American Leprosy Mission, the National Institute on Learning Disabilities, Love and Action and Christian Blind Mission International, as well as on the Board of Reference for the Christian Writers Guild, New Europe Communications and the Christian Medical and Dental Society.
After being the first woman honored by the National Association of Evangelicals as its "Layperson of the Year" in 1986, Joni was named "Churchwoman of the Year" in 1993 by the Religious Heritage Foundation.
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