Summary: Julie skipped all the way home. Baking chocolate chip cookies for Tonya's sleepover tomorrow night will be fun, she thought. She pictured the girls munching cookies at midnight as they painted their toenails. "Mom!" Julie hollered, slamming the screen door. Her voice echoed, but Mom didn't answer. That's when Julie spotted a note on the table. "Grandma came down with the flu,"she read. "I'm at her house. Love, Mom." Julie groaned and quickly dialed Grandma's number. "You've got to come home, Mom," Julie pleaded. "I promised to take home-baked chocolate chip cookies to Tonya's sleepover tomorrow. I need you to help me make them." "I'm sorry, honey, but I'm sure you can do it alone," said Mom. "You helped me often enough. And if you promised, you need to do it. After all, a promise is a promise. Besides, you don't really want me to leave Grandma, do you?" "No,"said Julie. So she hung up and went to get out the recipe. When she found it, she carefully measured the ingredients, dumped them into a mixing bowl, stirred them together, and got out the cookie sheets. The first batch of cookies lay cooling on the counter when Dad came through the kitchen door. He promptly snitched one and began munching. "Yum, still warm," he said. "Is it a new recipe?" "Same old chocolate chip recipe," replied Julie. Dad threw her a puzzled look. "Strange," he said. "I didn't get a single chocolate chip." Julie's face fell. "Chocolate chips!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot the chocolate chips!" "That's all right. They're delicious the way they are," Dad assured her as he grabbed another cookie and took a big bite. "I promised Tonya I'd bring homemade chocolate chip cookies for her sleepover. And chocolate chip cookies aren't chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips." Julie grinned, realizing how many times she'd said "chocolate chip." Dad smiled. "It's not too late to stir in chocolate chips," he pointed out. "And just think how chocolaty chippy the rest will be." He scooped up another cookie. "Okay, Dad. You can have those, but go easy on the ones that will actually have chocolate chips," said Julie. "I need them for tomorrow night. I made a promise, and a promise is a promise, you know!" How About You? In our Key Verse, the word vow means promise. The verse says it's better to not say you will do something than to say you will and not follow through. Are you careful to only make promises you know you'll be able to keep? Always be sure you can do what you say you will do. It's one small way in which you can honor God. Today's Key Verse: Pay what you have vowed--Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5) Today's Key Thought: Always keep your promises
