Every morning, and I mean every morning, my mother was up first getting the coffee going and fixin’ breakfast. Many times it was still dark outside. Breakfast was eggs, bacon or sausage, toast or biscuits and maybe oats or cream of wheat but seldom grits as dad, having a Yankee mother, did not like grits! Mother fixed what could be called a farmer’s breakfast. But me, well, lived in town and I had city ideas & thoughts. I wanted what my friends had. I wanted what they talked about in elementary school. I wanted the latest cereal prize.

I always wanted to go to the store with mom. I started trying to convince her how much I wanted & needed the delicious & nutritious Corn Flakes as we walked through the door. Once home from the store I had to wait until the next morning to see if the prize would fall out of the box as I poured the cereal. Never mind that the cereal got soggy and I really didn’t like it. Sometimes when my brother or mom were not looking, I would dig down into the box with my “fresh-washed” hand to retrieve the treasured toy. This was my morning priority. It was all about the prize inside.

While I am older now, I recognize this routine has returned…searching for the prize in the morning. As I look back, I recognize so many of the prizes I have collected over time have no value. What I begged, borrowed and convinced myself I wanted & needed is either in the trash heap, long forgotten or does not make my heart smile. Like the frogman toy on the Corn Flake box, they were lost with time.

Now I open up something else in the morning that also has a prize inside. It’s a prize that is fresh every morning. Digging around in the box is encouraged, even with dirty hands. It’s a prize box that never runs out. Unlike the plastic frogman toy, it has value that will never end. And get this! I love to tell my friends about today’s prize. You too can get your prize. It’s in your Bible.

Because of today’s technology we have access to a Bible in the traditional print form, on our computer & on our smart phones. So, no matter where a person is they can retrieve their prize of the day.

So, how does a person get their prize? First, it begins with a desire for the prize. Second, get the prize container off the shelf. Third, open it up & search for your prize. I begin my daily search with praying God’s Word from Psalm 25:4 & 5, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” It never fails…I always find a verse that will stick to my ribs through out the day. God’s Word, when ingested, is “The Breakfast of Champions”. It will never fail you.

Jesus said it this way, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51 Are you tired of digging through the world’s boxes and finding worthless stuff? Isn’t it time you started your day with something that will last forever?