From army men with baby monitors to a villain and hero who discover they are father and son, the Toy Story series has a little bit of everything. One of my favorite characters in the series is Mr. Potato Head. As the toys leave to save Woody, Mrs. Potato Head, his true love, helps him pack. Of course she is not packing a bag, but all the faces he may need throughout the trip. She announces, “I’m packing your angry eyes, just in case.”

As we grow up we stop playing with toys, but the lessons we hear as children would solve all the world’s problems, if  we actually practiced what we learned. Think what the preschool classic, “share”, would mean if we actually shared with one another. The life lesson we find from Mr. Potato Head is to be prepared. He is built with a hatch to store everything he needs. In the same way we need to prepare for life, prepare to use the talents God has given. Only when we use them for others will they become gifts…

Check out 1 Samuel 17:32-40. We often get hung up on what we don’t have (Saul’s armor), but God wants to create miracles through the talents and gifts we have… even a few stones.