<p> A FROG STORY by Pastor Jeffrey A. Nelson</p><p>Once upon a time, a group of frogs were traveling through the woods. As they walked, they looked at the trees and the flowers, listened to the birds, and ate an occasional fly. All of a sudden, two of the frogs, named Ferdy and Fritz, fell into a deep pit. Try as hard as they might, Fritz and Ferdy could not jump out of the pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. At first they tried to help their friends by throwing down different things. A hat, a brush, (three or four other things that would not be of any help) but none of these things seemed to be useful to their situation so they began to jump again. When it became clear how deep the pit was, the group started calling down to Ferdy and Fritz, and told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. They said that they should just give up and croak. There was nothing to do but die. At first, the two frogs ignored the comments and kept trying to jump out of the pit with all of their might. But the pit was very deep. So the group of frogs kept telling them to stop trying and just kick the bucket. Finally, Fritz took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He rolled over, kicked his legs a few times, and died. Ferdy, though, continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop trying and just give up the ghost. But Ferdy jumped even harder…and finally…Ferdy jumped out. You see Ferdy was deaf and unable to hear what the others frogs were saying. He thought they were shouting down words of encouragement the entire time, and that gave him the strength to jump out.</p><p>This story teaches a lesson.... </p><p>Proverbs 18:21 - There is the power of life and death in the tongue.</p><p>An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words... encouraging words can go such a long way. May your words be a blessing to someone today. Never forget that God is standing by, encouraging you to accomplish whatever you need to do as you seek to serve God. And with God’s help and encouragement…YOU CAN!</p><p>Fully Rely On God</p>