This April, Give & Take is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary! As we pause and reflect on the humorous and profound items we’ve printed over the years, ponder the following quotation: “Those who in everything make God first and last and best are the happiest people in the world” (Messages to Young People, p. 38).

 

Please join our staff in saying “Happy Birthday to You!” Ultimately, you and your loved ones, dear reader, are the Give & Take protagonists who keep this page one of the most popular in the magazine.

 

As a tribute to our first contributors—who are 15 years older—we are reprinting some of the submissions published in the very first Give & Take—so enjoy as we rewind to 1996 with a cheerful heart and gratitude to God and to “the happiest people in the world”!

 
 

“They call these the ‘red books.’ They should call them the ‘un-read books.’ ’’

—Pastor Dwight K. Nelson on the Testimonies, at Pioneer Memorial church in Berrien Springs, Michigan

 

“A problem not solved is trouble involved.”

—Henry Albert Swan, Bisbee, Arizona

 

 

Our 3-year-old Mitchell is doing pretty well with his limited vocabulary. But long sentences can still be a little confusing. For example, last week Mitchell’s memory verse was about Jesus’ feeding the crowd with five loaves and two fishes: “Jesus replied, . . . ‘You give them something to eat’” (Matt. 14:16). This week’s verse was about the lost sheep: “Rejoice . . . ; I have found my lost sheep” (Luke 15:6).

 

In Mitchell’s attempt to remember and say his memory verses all by himself, here’s what came out: “Rejoice! Now give me something to eat.”

 

I guess that verse is found in Mitchell 1:1.

—Randy Griffin, Indianapolis, Indiana

 

 

Hi, kids! Our angel named Herald is back. Fifteen years ago we introduced this character as our pretend angel, explaining that “we like to think that Herald represents the billions of real angels who help us trumpet the best news you’ll ever hear: Jesus is coming again.” Once again, the trumpet is hidden somewhere in this magazine. If you find it, send a postcard telling us where. Be sure to include your name and address! Then we’ll randomly choose three winning postcards.

In our last contest (January 20, 2011) we had 17 entries! Our three winners were Ryan Cox, from Kailua, Hawaii; Jasmine Evans, from Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee; and Jenna Freese, from Bismarck, North Dakota. Each received a book from Pacific Press. Where was the trumpet? On page 23.

If you can find the trumpet this time, send your postcard to Herald’s Trumpet, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. The prize will be a book from Pacific Press! Look for the three winners’ names in the June 23, 2011, edition of the Adventist Review. Have fun searching and keep trumpeting Jesus’ love—and His second coming!