Retraction!

This just in from the "Don't Believe Everything You Read" department! The inspiring story that was posted this week, Robby's Night" turned out to be untrue. Sharp-eyed Cafe visitor, Cora Johnson, tracked it on snopes.com and found it to be one of those annoying fake stories circulating on the Internet that sounds so good, but is not true. Our thanks to Cora for her kind and tactful e-mail to let us know.

We have removed the post and apologize to our Cafe visitors. We try hard to make sure we are not passing along urban legends, but this one escaped notice. We would also take this moment to caution all our IOTs to use illustrations with care. Some fake stories take on a life of their own and get circulated for many years as true accounts. Using such stories can hurt our credibility over time. If you have any doubts about a story's origins, go to http://www.snopes.com/. You can put the story title or key words into their search engine and see if they have any data on it.

Now, to make up for our error, we present an illustration you can use with confidence! The following poem, penned by Barbara Ryberg, has been around for a long time. Barbara's words are a challenging reminder to teachers about preparation and taking our ministry to children seriously. She had a Sunday school class in mind, but it certainly applies to a Good News Club as well. You could use this poem as an illustration in TCE classes such as Importance of the Teacher, Managing Your Classroom or Bible Lesson P&P, session 1 (teacher's preparation). Enjoy!

Defeated (by Barbara Ryberg)

I meant to study all the week
And very carefully prepare.
I meant to kneel—yes, every day
And bear each child up in prayer.
But I was weary and I found
So many things that I must do—
Important things that could not wait;
The week was gone before I knew.

I meant to visit several homes
And mail some cards to absentees
To let them know that they were missed,
For such a word is sure to please,
And often brings them quickly back.
But, somehow every day went by,
And not a single card I sent.
And now I ask, “Why didn’t I?”

So this morning when I rose
I tried to study while I ate.
I briefly read my lesson,
And hurried out, five minutes late.
I found them singing, and I dropped
Breathless, ashamed, into my seat,
For I intended to be there
That I the earliest child might greet.

Time for the lesson, and a group
Of eager voices beg their turn
To quote by heart the memory verse
Which I, alas, forgot to learn.
And so I stumbled through the hour,
And built with stubble, hay and wood
Instead of gold and precious stones
And silver, as His servants should.

“Go feed My lambs,” was His command
And shall I hope for them to live
On little morsels such as this,
When mighty feasts are mine to give?
Forgive me, Lord, that I should treat
Thy Word in such a shameful way,
And may I never stand again
Defeated, as I’ve done today.