Thank you for being so patient with T.J.I.F.A. We have had the worst technical difficulty and trial that we've ever suffered since the inception of this Newsletter. There were many times that we felt that we should throw in the keyboards and printers, but just when we'd grab hold of a piece of equipment, we'd repent and try all the harder.

Technology is wonderful, in its place. Personally, my rambling thoughts told me that we were way out of place. We learned more about ‘RAMS,' ‘MGB'S;'‘ KGB'S;' ‘GB'S' and ‘CD's' than we ever thought was necessary. We found out how to reset modems, remove programs, add programs, clean up hard drives and remove and restart ‘Fire Walls,' and all we really wanted to do was to sit down and write the Newsletter. Whew!

TRUE E. READYWRITER.
H.A.L.T.!
Big Fat Frog quietly sat down in the kitchen after he sliced a large piece of cake, poured a large glass of orange juice, and topped off his cake with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. He then opened a bag of chips to go with this between meal snack. After school he was always hungry, but today he was not only hungry, he was angry, lonely and tired of the ridicule that he constantly received from the frequent episodic interruptions of his classmates. He tried to, DRUM UP THE NAME OF JUST ONE FRIEND. One friend who didn't ridicule him and call him ‘Butter,' ‘Crisco,' ‘Watermelon Belly,' ‘Sausage,'‘ Cake Walk,' and the latest name – ‘Dough Boy.' But as hard as he tried he couldn't think of even one friend, who would qualify as a true friend. All of them laughed at him, and called him names that were edible.

He was in the midst of his sorrow, when the doorbell rang. He decided not to open it, after all no one wanted him around and it just might mean he would get another ‘food name.' Then he heard his name. "Frog? Where are you?" It was Cindy. What could she possibly want? She was only a friend because our parents know one another. He answered, "I'm in here Cindy." I just know she's dressed in some sort of pink stuff and smiling in her own way. I wonder if Cindy is really my friend? I'm going to try our friendship.

"Why are you sitting here by yourself, Frog?" Cindy looked around, then asked, "May I have some of your chips?"
"Sure Cindy? Do you have any friends?" BFF looked Cindy straight in the face. He was looking for the smallest glimmer of untruth; or the faintest inkling of falsehood.
Cindy crunched on her chips and gazing off into the air. She looked as if she didn't hear his question, but she replied, "I don't …"

The doorbell rang again. "Thank you Mrs. Frog. I am locked out of the house and I thought that I'd come up here to talk with my neighbor, Frog, until my parents get home."
BFF was anticipating his world coming to an end. How could this be? Here I am at my lowest point in life, and in comes EVERYBODY in the whole wide world to annoy me. I know what I'll do, he schemed, I'll ask Frederick the same question that Cindy couldn't answer.

"Hey Frog. Hi Cindy. How about some of those chips?" Frederick continued, "I could eat a real big Bear."
"Sure Frederick, do you have a friend?" inquired BFF.
"No!" unfaltering at the answer. Then Frederick asked BFF, "Why do you want to know? And why are you and Cindy sitting around the table so sad. You look as if you've lost your best friend."
BFF turned to Cindy, "Cindy, you never did answer the question. Do you have a good friend?"

Cindy lowered her already soft voice and replied, "I don't have a good friend, anymore. Her name was Wendy. We used to dress alike. She moved with her parents to another state, and I haven't heard from her in a long time. I thought we'd never lose contact. No. I haven't got a real good friend." She put another chip into her mouth.
Frederick went into his book bag and pulled out a Lap Top Computer. Cindy and BFF watched him boot up and begin quickly fingering the keyboard, in agitated silence. BFF wondered about Frederick; he wondered and then spoke, "Frederick, does anyone call you out of your name?"
Frederick looked up from his Lap Top and responded, "No! They know better." Then back to his Lap Top he went, never losing but a single moment.

BFF, then, turned his attention to Cindy, who was munching chips with a vengeance. "Cindy, does anyone ever call you out of your name?"
Cindy slowly answered, "Yes, they call me a lot of bad names. Especially the ‘In-Group.' They seem to get a thrill about me being a Christian. They call me ‘Strawberry Short Cake,' and say that I am ‘out of sync', and ‘Old Fashioned.' Sometimes, they even talk about my parents…you know what I mean?"
Frederick had stopped working on his Lap Top. His _expression was surprised and annoyed. He asked in an intolerant tone, "Don't they know that your mother is sick? Haven't they got any morals? You should be able to be a Christian without ridicule. This is a Free Country. That's why we're over there fighting in Iraq. We're fighting to make another people free, and we don't even know how to treat one another."

Cindy asked BFF for something to drink and was given a tall glass of orange juice, identical to his. BFF asked Frederick if he wanted something, and he eagerly requested some ice cream. They sat in silence consuming their snacks. Frederick broke the silence, "I know the names that the class call both of you. I don't like it when I hear them talking. Many times I have told them that they were being cruel, but, they then turned on me; and they do call me out of my name, also. They call me names like ‘brainiac,'‘ Good Boy,'‘ Einstein,' but the worst name that I've ever been called is a ‘ Cheater.' I'm NOT a cheater. I study hard and read a lot. I can't help it if I'm different. I like to be clean and wear my suit pants to school. After all, BFF and Cindy, you can go to Church and wear your new clothes. I don't go to Church, so, I wear my good clothes to school. And my father says that I must get used to dressing for success." He was eating his ice cream selectively at first, then he stirred it up and ate it with a passion.

BFF noticed how he was eating the ice cream, and asked him if he wanted some cake to go with it. Frederick consented; and BFF cut him a big slice of frosted cake. Upon seeing the cake and ice cream, Cindy also requested one scoop and a small slice of cake. BFF obligingly served Cindy. He didn't know why, but, he was beginning to feel much better. Now he wondered if he felt better because his acquaintances were feeling bad, or was it because he now knew them better than he had ever known them. He never knew that Frederick had taken up for him and Cindy. BFF always considered Frederick and himself to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum. He never thought that he had any feelings, nor that he could be hurt by the comments of other classmates. What was he feeling? What was he experiencing? He really didn't know these two people sitting at his kitchen table. This time wasn't going to last. Cindy interrupted his thoughts, "Frog, do you feel bad when our classmates call you those names? Do you have a good friend? How do you think Frederick and I should respond to their badgering? You haven't had much to say; tell us Frog."

"In Health, today, the Nurse told us about the reason that ‘Addicts' abuse drugs, food and many other substances. Remember, she said that addicts use when they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired. Today I came home, after being teased unmercifully. I was tired and decided that I had no friends. I began to doubt that I was even worth having a friend. My mind was so clouded with the thoughts of others and what they thought about my condition, that I couldn't tap into the WORD of GOD, nor to any of the good things that my parents have taught me. I didn't want company, and I sure didn't want to see the two of you, today. But, as it would happen, here you are, and here I am with egg on my face.

It's not a good feeling when the class makes fun of me, but, I have learned to put it behind me and to go on. However, there are times when I have had enough of their criticism; it seems to never end. They are smart enough to always get me alone, and if I had only been mindful, I would have seen that they were doing the same thing to the two of you. That's the way the Enemy operates. He waits until you are at your lowest and then he pushes buttons that will make you feel inferior and could cause an addiction to claim its prey. It's easy to see how an individual can fall into bad habits as a result of being mentally or physically abused and harassed by scores of heckling people. Jesus said in Matthew 5:11&12 ‘Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in Heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'

When I come away from them, I usually build myself up with the WORD of GOD. It renews me and gives me the strength to go on. It's a poor and pitiful situation when the only way that you can feel good about yourself is when you're putting someone else down. But, this is exactly what is happening with our insensitive classmates.

Frederick and Cindy you're O.K. I don't see you as the adjectives that they have assigned to you. I see you through the eyes of my understanding based on the WORD of GOD, and you're REAL GOOD PEOPLE. Names can only hurt you when you allow them to become a part of you. Personally, I've never given the Enemy that much power. They haven't got the authority to name you, that's why they call you out of your name. These adjectives are given to call attention to the characteristic which they find irritating, or that which they envy. I have days when I get depressed…"
"Christians get depressed?" Frederick interrupted.
"Yes, Frederick. Christians are like anyone else. We get depressed; we cry; and many Christians abuse drugs, alcohol, and food. The biggest and most powerful difference between Christians and non Christians is the availability of the POWER of CHRIST to bring them out of their misery. You see, Christ gives us hope in dark, undesirable situations. Every time a Born Again Christian speaks the Name of JESUS, he brings light into his circumstances.

Let's do something that we learned today, I'll start:
Hi, my name is BFF, and I am a Food Addict."
Cindy responded, "Hi, BFF."
Frederick was back on his Lap Top Computer and as a ‘off the cuff' comment he replied, "BFF! What kind of name is that? What is your real name?"
BFF corrected his greeting and started again, "Hi, my name is Benjamin Faithful Frog, and I'm a ‘Born Again Christian.' This afternoon I abused snack food because I was hungry, angry, lonely, and tired, but, I was reminded through a visit from my friends of my ‘HIGHEST POWER' that: ‘Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.' ( Matt.5:6); and that I am allowed to be angry, but I must not sin;(Eph.4:26); when I'm lonely, Jesus said that,‘He would never leave me or forsake me'(Heb.13:5) and when I'm tired, Isaiah said, ‘But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength...(Isa.40:31)."

Cindy had an orange juice mustache which she quickly wiped off with one of her pink tissues, then she spoke: "Hi, my name is Christine. I am a ‘Good Friend.' I changed my nick name from ‘Christy' to ‘Cindy' because my best friend's name was Wendy. I have taken a long look back over my past, and I know in my heart that, like Benjamin Faithful Frog said, I will never be alone, because I am a Christian. I don't have the need to change myself so that others will like me or want to be my friend. Like BFF said, ‘I'm O.K."

Cindy and BFF looked at Frederick, expecting him to speak. Frederick finished what he was typing on his computer, then spoke: "Hi, my name is Frederick . I am a ‘Genius.' I abused snack food today because I hate being called a ‘Cheater.' I was more angry than anything. I ate because I was also hungry. I work very hard for my grades. I will not get ‘B's' so that other people can feel good about their failures. I feel that I am more addicted to getting more information than I am to food. I'm not sure about the ‘Higher Power.' I guess it's O.K. for others, but for me…my Dad and my Mom are the powers in my life. I wish I could quote like Benjamin Faithful Frog, but since I can't quote from one source, I readily use this Lap Top Computer."

They all applauded one another's journey of success, then Frederick looking through the window, exclaimed, "Oh no! It's my ‘Higher Power;' my Father. I've got to go. I told him that I would return his Lap Top as soon as he arrived." He hurriedly gathered his possessions, putting the computer into his book bag.

BFF asked him quickly, "What were you looking for in your computer?"
Frederick admitted, "I thought that you and Cindy had gone nuts. I looked up ‘invisible friends,' for Cindy's disappearing friend named, Wendy; and I was looking up the signs of ‘depression' for you."
Rushing to go home, Frederick stopped at the door, "And to really answer your question…Do I have a friend?

In Medieval Bavaria, a castle filled with riches came under attack. The invading army was strong and claimed victory over the castle, it's inhabitants, and it's treasures.
The men of the castle accepted their defeat and were prepared to surrender. But their wives had other plans. With their lives and their wealth at stake, the women decided to negotiate their own truce with the invaders. Ultimately, it was agreed that the women would be guaranteed safe passage from the castle with whatever possessions they could carry out of it.
The gates opened and the women walked out slowly. Their backs were bent under the weight of their most valued possessions. At the sight of these brave wives, the soldiers of the conquering army were moved to tears.
The invaders knew that the women wouldn't be able to remove all of the treasures the castle held. Yet, it never occurred to them what the women considered to be their true wealth.
Each wife had left behind all of her gold, jewels, and other material possessions –and carried out her husband.