Adventist Life
At an Adventist elementary school I attended in New Jersey, we were outside playing kickball during a spring recess. One of the boys kicked the ball far and high into the air. Carol, a seventh-grader undergoing chemotherapy treatments, was back at school—and closest to the ball. She ran to catch the ball but misjudged its position. The bouncy ball hit Carol between her shoulder blades and off popped her wig. 

Everyone on the playground froze in horror, until we realize that Carol was laughing as she reached down and plopped the hair back on her head. We all breathed a sigh of relief and laughed too. Along with prayers and good medical care, I’m sure that Carol’s positive attitude helped her leukemia go into remission.
—Kimberly Luste Maran, Laurel, Maryland 

My young nieces will not eat a meal before thanking God for the food, and they don’t have to be asked to do so. They put me to shame—as an adult I still have a hard time praying in public. The right words just don’t seem to cross my lips. This isn’t an issue with Lauren, the 4-year-old, so she didn’t know the brief wave of anxiety that went through me when she asked me to offer the prayer for a meal on Valentine’s Day. 

With all eyes watching me, I knew I had to set a good example—and I can never deny that angelic face anything. I launched into a standard, solemn adult prayer and when she sensed I was closing, Lauren whispered over to me, “Thank you for Valentine’s Day,” which I repeated with a big smile.

Lauren taught me that our prayers do not have to be elaborate or structured or too serious. They can be simple and conversational, and they can be about anything. But whatever the method, they need to be straight from the heart and ceaseless!
—Michelle Fontaine, Alpharetta, Georgia

Sound Bite..
“It’s not what you hold in your hand that makes you valuable; it is what you hold in your heart!”
—Dan Weaver, during the worship service, in the children’s story at the Dayton, Tennessee, church

Herald’s Trumpet
Hi, kids! Herald’s trumpet is once again hidden somewhere in this magazine. If you find it, send a postcard telling us where. Be sure to include your name and address! Then we’ll randomly choose three winning postcards.

In our last contest (April 12, 2012) we received only 3 postcards! Our three winners were Maddie Alleman, from Bentonville, Arkansas; Shastina Miller, from Pullman, Michigan; and Jessica Sheldon, from Copperopolis, California. Each received a book from Pacific Press. Where was the trumpet? On page 13.

If you can find the trumpet this time, send your postcard to Herald’s Trumpet, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. The prize will be  . . . a surprise! Look for the three winners’ names in the November 15, 2012, edition of the Adventist Review. Have fun searching and keep trumpeting Jesus’ love—and His second coming!