Someone said that one indication of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

?  Recently I stopped by our local post office to buy a few stamps. Since I was in a hurry and didn???t want to stand in line, I decided to use one of the vending machines.

?  The price for a page of 20 stamps was $ 8.80. You have to give the postal service credit. It is amazing that one stamp is still under 50 cents. You can send a first class letter anywhere in the country (including Alaska and Hawaii) for under 50 cents! Pretty amazing.

?  First, I made sure that the machine had stamps. Yes, it did! So, I put a $5 bill into the vending machine and it gladly took my money. When I tried to put in another $5 bill, it wouldn???t accept it. The display said something like, ???Please put in smaller money???. So, I began to put in several $1 bills which it gladly accepted, until the total deposited was $9.00.

?  Things were looking good until I pressed the number key for my $8.80 page of stamps. The vending machine would not give me my stamps. I pressed the ???coin return??? hoping to at least get my money back. No deal. It wouldn???t give me my money back either.

?  Didn???t this happen to me before? Haven???t I had a battle with the machines at the post office before? Then I realized it was man against machine, and the machine was winning again.

?  My time saving adventure had suddenly vanished. I was hoping to avoid standing in line, but now there I was waiting to tell a clerk my latest misadventure. The clerk was helpful and polite. She gave me a page of stamps and my 20 cents in change. So, at least I got my stamps and change.

?  When I asked them what I did wrong, the clerk explained that the machine was out of change! It gladly accepted my money, but could not give change.

?  As I walked out of the post office, I noticed one of the employees putting an ???Out of Order??? sign on the machine I had just used. It might have been better to put a sign that said, ???Machine Wins Again???.

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There is a TV show in England similar to our country???s ???American Idol???. People in England have the opportunity to showcase their talents with the hope of winning the grand prize of a hundred thousand dollars.

One of the biggest surprises was a middle age single woman who stunned all of the judges with her musical talent. She sang with a powerful and beautiful voice. The audience and judges were amazed.

I heard that over 100 million people have watched her performance on the internet. From an obscure Scottish village, this woman suddenly captured the attention of the world.

In many ways, this reminds me of the story of King David in the Bible. He was an unknown young man who tended his father???s sheep on the hills of Bethlehem. One day a famous Old Testament Prophet named Samuel came to his father???s house looking for a new King for the nation of Israel. (I Samuel 16) David was the youngest of eight boys in the family. He is the one that was selected by Samuel as the next King of Israel.

In II Samuel chapter 7, David expresses his amazement in a prayer to God. In that prayer he says, ???Who am I that you (God) would select me from shepherding sheep in obscure village of Bethlehem to become the Shepherd of a nation???? That is a good question! Why would God select an unknown young shepherd to lead an entire nation?

? I???m sure that you feel like I do. Who am I, that God would choose to use me in some way? But, that is exactly what God does. He delights to take ordinary people like you and me, and use us to do extraordinary things for Him!

When we see our lives from this perspective, it adds new value to the work we do. It gives us a sense of purpose as we raise a family or help a neighbor. Our simple acts of kindness can make a big difference in the lives of others.

You may feel insignificant and unimportant in the place where you work or live. But, God can use you to make a difference in the lives of others, if you do it for Him.

I hope you will take time to dust off your Bible this week and read more of the life of David. Use the table of contents to find II Samuel chapter seven. Take time to read and reflect on this remarkable man named David. His humility will encourage you. His perspective will surprise you.

Calling all high school students! I know you are all so popular and have the next 16 Friday nights already booked with dates, movie nights or other fun stuff??¦.BUT??¦cancel everything!!! Starting Friday February 6th, and every Friday after that, we will be meeting in the basement of the church from 6-9pm to hangout, play Wii, Playstation, Pingpong, boardgames, dodgeball and to just hang out. Bring your own food or snacks to share with your friends! Check out the high school page on the website for other info.