Proverbs to Ponder: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Meaning:
     The proverb "Birds of a feather flock together" means if people with the similar characteristics, opinions or interests tend to keep company with one another.

Example:
      Everyone here must love bowling! Birds of a feather flock together!

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Nuggets of Knowledge: Hotdog Mastermind

OSCAR F. MAYER

 -The Hotdog Mastermind

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Idiom of the Day: Easy Come, Easy Go

Meaning:
      "Easy come, easy go" is a phrase that is used to describe a casual or careless attitude to money or other valuable things. Someone who is easy come, easy go thinks that money is easy to get, so they do not worry about spending it wisely.

Example:
      I don't think that you should trust me with this large amount of money, I am an easy come, easy go type of person.

Reader's Corner : Norton Juster's Enchanted Tale of a Tollbooth

      Have you ever seen a tollbooth? Or had you ever passed thru a tollbooth? A tollbooth is actually a gate house where one needs to pay before he could get through it. I think Norton Juster’s “The Phantom Tollbooth” would perfectly give you an idea of what a tollbooth is. The story revolves around a 9 year old boy named Milo, who thinks that there is nothing in his life worth doing. His outlook suddenly changes when he saw a tollbooth in his room which was sent by an anonymous person. When he tried getting into the tollbooth, he was transported into the magical realm of “kingdom of wisdom”.  Throughout his journey he met different unusual characters that even I cannot imagine.  What role would all these unusual characters play in Milo’s journey?

      This is a timeless story that has been magnificently written. Not to mention the funny scenes that would really tickle your bones! One of my favorite characters is “Tock”, the Watch dog who was a dog with a body of an actual clock! Tock is really wise and very brave, but he could be grumpy sometimes. This story will teach us to value our education and would encourage us to do our best in school even if there are times we don’t feel like it. It also motivates you to achieve great things in your life.

    I recommend this story this story to children whose age is 9 years old and above because it can be quite long, but is really worth reading because of its comedic scenes and its powerful words. Have a phantom-filled reading time!

-by Tim

Proverbs to Ponder: As You Sow, So You Reap

Meaning:
     The proverb "as you sow, so you reap" means that what you receive depends on how much effort you place on something you are doing.


Example:
     Mike has studied so hard lately that at an science exam, he got an A+! As you sow, so you reap.

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Nuggets of Knowledge: Lego Manufacturer

OLE KIRK CHRISTIANSEN

 - Maker of the LEGO Bricks

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Idiom of the Day: Rushed off your Feet

Meaning:

      You say that you are "rushed off your feet" when you are very busy and having to work very hard and very fast.

Example:

       Dianne looks haggard and very tired, she must have rushed off her feet doing all her school projects last night. 

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Reader's Corner: Professor Sherman's Sky-High Balloon

      Have you ever experienced being in a hot-air balloon? Or would you be brave enough to try it? If you are interested on how does it feel to fly a hot-air balloon, William Pene du Bois’s 21 Balloons will definitely catch your eye. The story is about the tale of an old professor, whose name is Prof. William Waterman Sherman, who took a hot-air balloon to encounter thrilling journey with some fun side to it. His journey leads him to meet Mister F. What will be Mister F’s role on Professor Sherman’s adventure in this story?

      My favorite part in this story is when Prof. Sherman and the inhabitants of an island escape the island’s volcano, which was very suspenseful to me. Like some of the stories I previously read, there are a lot of morals that can be learned from this tale. Being eager to try new things and not let fear stop you from doing things that you like are just few of the lessons that can be learned.

      I recommend this book because of what its story is about. Children with ages of 9 years and above would surely like the book.  The book is also informative as it shows us some historical background of Indonesia.  21 Balloons might look like it’s long and boring, but once you start reading, it will bring you into this high-flying tale of an old professor and his balloon. Enjoy!

Proverbs to Ponder : Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Meaning:
      The proverb "Once bitten, twice shy" means that if something or someone has hurt you once, you will try not to let them hurt you again.

Example:
      Poor James was once attacked by dog, once bitten, twice shy, now he is avoiding all dogs.

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Nuggets of Knowledge: My Little Pony Pioneer

BONNIE ZACHERLE

 - My Little Pony Pioneer

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God is Just One Call Away!

      "You've been gone for a long time mom and dad!" I uttered nervously. Have you ever asked God to help you in something, and you didn't expect he would answer it right away?  Well, I do have one and I somehow thought it's a miracle!

      One Saturday, my mom and dad went out to attend their Bible study group. They told us that they will return home after few hours.And while they are away, they assigned us some tasks to do. After finishing our task, we spent our time watching television and playing our video-games, not realizing they've been been gone for 5 hours already. Fear started to creep inside me and my brother as we haven't heard from them yet. I tried texting them but they didn't answer. We even called them but still fail to get an answer. My mind is starting to be clouded with bad thoughts, however a thought praying to God prompted me. While I was praying that my mom would soon answer my messages, our phone rang. It's our mom, telling us that they're headed home. We were so happy and felt relieved! At the same time, thankful to God. I know that my problem was not that big yet He still not only listen to me but also help me right away!

      My experience has taught me that God cares for not only big things in our life, but also the smallest ones. My brother and I tried calling our parents a lot of times that night, unfortunately we fail to get an answer. With God, it's different, when we call upon to the Lord, He would answer us even though what we are telling him is not that a big deal.  God hears us when we call upon him, he will surely answer us because he is never too busy for us. There is no dead spot or no signal to him, nor there is no "busy" and "ignore" word to Him as well. God is just one call away!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8

-by Tim

Idiom of the Day: Catch Someone Napping

Meaning:
     To "catch someone napping" is to take someone or something by surprised if they are not paying attention to what is happening.


Example:
     We were caught napping by the thief and now our wallets are gone!

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Reader's Corner: One Mouse and One Motorcycle will make an Awesome Duo!

      Do you like stories with exciting adventures and heart-warming scenes of friendship? Beverly Cleary’s Ralph and the Motorcycle have all the things that you want in a book! This story tells of an adventurous mouse that makes friends with a young boy named Keith. Ralph then inherits Keith’s motorcycle and has many thrilling adventures with it. Ralph also gets into lots of adventure because of his reckless behavior.

      My favorite part of this story was when Ralph’s relatives start a fight on who shall get an aspirin for Ralph. I liked that part because the relatives tried making one of Ralph’s uncles to go without his permission. It was very funny! There are some morals in this story like showing the importance of being being polite and respectful.  It also highlights other lessons such as thinking before doing something, caring for others, and to always forgive others if they did something bad to you or lost something that was yours.

     I suggest this book for kid’s age 8-10 years old because it brings children in exciting adventures and sometimes, funny scenes. This book will remove kid’s boredom from reading books. It will also teach kids about lessons that we can use in real life. The story will also keep kids from leaving it and keep them in a trance. I am sure that parents will want to buy this book for their kids because many would love to see a mouse on a motorcycle, right?

by Beverly Cleary

-By Jerry-

B.T.S. (Blue. Tooth. Speaker.)

      "It's almost Christmas!" I excitedly uttered to myself. This is the much awaited holiday of the year and everyone loves it! It's Christmas! What do you love most in Christmas? Is it the overflowing food in your Christmas table? The extravagant Christmas decorations in malls? Or is it the much awaited gifts we want to receive? A lot of people love receiving and opening gifts! Who wouldn't right? However, did you ever asked God for a specific gift, but instead got something different?

      Yesterday, my family and I went to my mom and dad's LifeGroup Christmas party. It was more like a swimming party hosted by one of their life group friends. It was amazing!  My brother and I were able to swim in the pool together with one of the child of our dad's friend. My mom and dad along with their couple friends also got the chance to do some relaxing in the hot springs pool. To top it off we indulge ourselves  with delicious food, like hot dogs, satay (Chicken on a stick), spaghetti, chicken joy, chips, fruits, cookies, rice cakes and overflowing drinks in the pantry table! It was really a Christmas feast! But the highlight for me and my brother, was when we did our exchanged gifts with other kids in the party! It was a mix of thrill and excitement while we wait for our turn to pick our number for the gift we would be getting. Unexplained joy upon opening the present that we have long been waiting for! Emotions Overload!!!

      Behind those cool experiences we had yesterday, there were unexpected lessons we learned:

a. God gives us gifts not necessarily always those things that we want but rather those things we need.

     During our kid's exchanged gift part at the Christmas Party, my brother would have wanted to really to receive a Lego set, however there were no Lego sets. My brother received a very nice Converse bag! I learned that He gives us the ones we need so that we can enjoy our lives. Not all that we think we want would be eventually good for us. When you get something different than you asked God for, you might be wondering "Why did God did not answer my prayer?" It's because God knows that the thing that you are asking for is not the one you really need at that moment. God knows we need a new bag!!! 

b. God would always exceed our expectations on the things we want as long as it's good for us.

     At the party, my mom and I were praying to God for a type of speaker that we wanted. During the  kid's exchanged gift, we picked a number which will be the gifts that I will get. The funny part was when it was my brother's turn to get his pick. Every time he got a number, it was number 1! That was the same present that we wanted. However, it was his own gift. He had to give to the other kid. When it was my turn to pick, I was hoping I could get number 1, but instead, I got number 3 gift. Guess what's inside number 3? When I opened up present number 3, I was so surprised! It was a B.T.S. ! Blue Tooth Speaker! It was not the one  I wanted but it was more better than the one I wanted before. There are times we insist on getting what we want and then later get frustrated if we didn't get it. However, God gives us gifts in an unexpected ways. Most especially, God might not give us what we want because He has something better in stored for us. So hang in there and just trust in Him!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

James 1:17

-by Tim

Proverbs to Ponder: Nothing ventured, nothing win/gain

Meaning:
     The proverb "nothing venture, nothing win/gain" means that if you do not risk something, you might not win or gain anything.


Example:
     Nothing ventured, nothing gain Jack always says, but I'm not sure if Jack should listen to that saying.

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Nuggets of Knowledge: Master of Board Games

MILTON BRADLEY

 - Master of Board Games

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Idiom of the Day: As Easy as Falling Off a Log

Meaning:
     The expression "as easy as falling off a log" means that something might be very easy for someone.


Example:
     For me, playing videogames is as easy as falling off a log to me. 

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