Make Me A Spoon
Anonymous
 

Did you ever compare your Christian service to silverware? All silverware is made to serve, but the different pieces serve in different ways.
 

Forks stab.  "This is mine," they say.  Bits of meat, carrots, pickles, salad and cheese.  "This, this and  this are mine," says the fork. "Everything for me, me, me."  And soon every last morsel on the plate has been pinned by the spear of the selfish fork.
 

Knives cut.  "Too big," says the knife.  Slice.  Cut.   Chop.  Dice. Everything must change its shape to satisfy the whim of the knife. Nothing is right as it is.  Everything needs paring down, carving or separating.
 

Spoons serve:  cereal, soup, peas -- all the impossible foods can be handled comfortably from the
smooth bowl of the spoon.  Spoons say, "Here, let me help you.  We can manage together." 

MAKE ME A SPOON, LORD!
 

- Related Scriptures:  Some good scriptures to share with this object lesson:  Mosiah 2: 17, D&C Sec. 4 is good, D&C 20:19 or any other related scripture.

- Make a list: Talk about how we are like forks, knives and spoons in our personal lives.  Make a list of ways we can be more like the spoon. 

- Snack Idea: Hand each family member a chocolate covered spoon and make some hot cocoa.  As you are making the cocoa talk about how service makes you feel inside (warm and happy just like the cocoa).  Challenge family members to act more like the spoon in the coming week.

- Handout idea: Chocolate covered spoon.  Use a plastic spoon and dip in chocolate (see picture). Attach the poem to the spoon with curly ribbon.  They can take the gift home and make their own hot chocolate.

- Game Idea: Play the game "Spoons".  You'll need a deck of cards and spoons (one less than the number of people playing)

HOW TO PLAY:

1. The object is to collect four cards of one kind (four twos, four kings and so on) and not to be the person left without a spoon. To begin, place the spoons (one fewer than the number of players) in the center of the table within grabbing reach of all players. Each player is dealt four cards. The dealer keeps the deck.

2. The dealer picks a card from the deck and then discards one card from his hand, sliding it facedown to the player to his left. That player takes it, then picks one card from his hand and passes it to his left.

3. Each player in turn does the same, as quickly as possible. Each person should have four cards in his hand at all times. The player to the right of the dealer places discarded cards in a pile to his left to be used by the dealer when the original deck is used up.

4. Play continues until one player has four of a kind, at which time he takes a spoon from the pile. He may steal the spoon surreptitiously, continuing to pass cards until someone else notices. Or he may grab his spoon, creating a mad rush for spoons at the table.

5. The player left without a spoon has lost the round. If you like to keep score, that player is given an S. As players spell S-P-O-O-N-S, they are out. The player left at the end is the winner.