Dear Child,

In the parable of the prodigal son in the Bible, the young man yielded to temptation and went to a distant land. He lived a loose lifestyle and was eventually impoverished. He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that land and worked in a field, feeding swine. He came to the realization that his father's hired hands were eating much better than he. He decided to humble himself and return home to ask forgiveness and live as a hired hand.

The young man saw himself as unworthy to be called a son any more.

But his father saw it differently. He welcomed the son with open arms. The young man was still the father's son.

I am still the Father's beloved daughter. No matter what. He wants to hold me and love me and listen to me talk. And He wants to talk to me.

I am His daughter because of the Son, who died on the cross for me.

And so are you..... if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If you have not, just ask Him right now. Then read the book of John in the Bible and find a church that has solid Bible teaching.

Remember that you are His daughter (or son) when you feel far away. Remember it when you have fallen into temptation. Remember it when the Enemy is telling you that you are not worth anything. Hold up your shield of faith and resist the Enemy. Run into the Father's arms of love.

Roses and Ripoffs

Girls love flowers - their beauty, their scent, their color. A woman especially loves flowers when the man in her life buys them for her. Italian men know this well.

Our last day in Rome led us to the Piazza del Popolo (People's Square), which is just inside the northern gate of the Aurelian Wall. An Egyptian obelisk of Rameses II stands in the center of the piazza. The obelisk was brought to Rome in 10 BC by order of Augustus and was originally set up in the Circus Maximus. It was re-erected here in 1589.

We wandered around the piazza, soaking in the ambiance, when an Italian man approached us with an armful of red roses and declared, "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman."

My vanity caved in and I took the three roses he offered with pleasure.

Two minutes passed and the man returned. Uh oh.

"How about you give-a me a little money?" he directed at my unsuspecting husband. Kevin dug into his pocket and pulled out a few euros.

"How about a little more?" the Italian complained.

Kevin gave him another.

"No. No. More."

"That's all I have," replied Kevin.

The man was still not satisfied.

We were trapped. If Kevin kept refusing, the man would make him feel like I was worth more. If he kept handing over euros, we would be broke! My initial pleasure turned to anger.

I turned to the scammer and said, "How about you give the money back and I give you the flowers?"

That did the trick. He frowned and walked away.We did not fall for that trick again!

But I did keep the roses! Here I am shortly after, strolling through the Villa Borghese area, roses tucked into my bag.