Summary: "Guess what happened today," said Ben, letting the door slam behind him. "Someone freed the frogs in science lab again?" asked Mom as she pulled a pan of cookies from the oven. Ben laughed. "Nope," he said. "Matt got his own personal cheerleader." "A personal cheerleader?" asked Mom. "Now you've got my attention." "It was an experiment. Mrs. Crane wanted us to see how it would change a person's actions if he had someone cheering for him all the time," explained Ben as he sat down at the table. "She said the way people are treated can determine how they feel about themselves and the choices they make." "Way to go, Mrs. Crane!" Mom cheered. "So what happened?" "At first it was just funny," said Ben, reaching for a cookie, "but as the day went on, it got totally cool. Mrs. Crane asked Eli to be Matt's cheerleader, so every time Matt did something good, Eli cheered him on. By the end of the day, Matt was doing nice things just to get a cheer. He said it made him feel really good." "That is cool," said Mom. "I guess Mrs. Crane made her point." "She sure did," agreed Ben. "It made me wish I had my own cheerleader, too. It would be nice to have someone on my side all the time." Mom smiled. "Well . . . someone is always on your side, and you do have your own cheerleader," she said. "But you don't count, Mom," Ben said with a grin. "You don't get to follow me around school." "No, it's not me," replied Mom, sitting down beside Ben. "One of the verses in Psalm 118 says, 'The Lord is on my side.' So in a way, God is your cheerleader. The Bible says, 'If God is for us, who can be against us?'" Ben laughed. "That does almost sound like a cheer," he said. "When you make good choices, God is cheering," said Mom. "When you study hard and do your best, He cheers you on. God is always there to encourage you and help you do good things." "Wow!" said Ben. "My own personal cheerleader! All right!" He grinned and took a big bite of his cookie. How About You? Does God cheer when He sees the choices you make? Just think--He is "for you" when you have to decide whether to study hard, to be nice to a lonely kid, to be honest, or to help someone. He is "for you" when you wonder if the kids will still like you if you refuse to join them in doing something wrong! He is always there to cheer you on to do good things. Today's Key Verse: If God is for us, who can be against us. (Romans 8:31) Today's Key Thought: God is for you
