When the ten virgins went forth to meet the Bridegroom, the five wise virgins not only took their lamps with them, but also other vessels filled with reserve oil to be used in replenishing their lamps when the oil had burned away. The extra bottle was their life preserver, for when the midnight cry was heard, from this bottle they refilled their lamps, and went in to the wedding with the Bridegroom. In our journey home to God we must take this bottle of heavenly "milk," God's word with us. Take a _Milk Verse_ every day--that is, inwardly digest a promise of God daily. This will give you strength now and victory in the hour of death. =53 A CHRISTMAS TREE IN AUGUST OBJECTS: A Tree Trimmed with Gifts for the Heathen= A Christmas-tree in August! This thought sounds like a misfit among ideas. A Christmas-tree with its atmosphere of frost, snow, and December dropped down in the summer garden of August seems to be like a rose-bush with its roots planted in the air. But the Christmas-tree that I am thinking about is never a misfit in any month or in any place. Any time is the right time for this good tree. Let me now tell you about the Christmas-tree in August. It is a foreign-mission tree. In order to send our Christmas gifts to foreign-mission stations so they will be received in time for Christmas, they must be sent months ahead of that date, and therefore often they are collected in August. This will give you ample time to send the gifts to any port in the world. August is the best time to gather the children together also. They are free from school duties, and the weather is quite suitable for open-air services. Select if possible some open space or a lawn on which there is standing a small tree by itself, This tree should not be over five or six feet high. Drop on its branches a few bunches of cotton to give a snow-and-winter effect. When the people have assembled around this tree, and after a brief prayer has been offered, state that this will be a missionary service, and that the Scripture lesson will be the closing verses of the last chapter of Matthew containing the Commission. This tree we will call our August Christmas-tree, for we will now trim it with our Christmas gifts for the children of the foreign lands. Some time previous to this date you have asked all the people to bring their Christmas gifts for foreign ports to this meeting, and to wrap them up in white packages securely tied with strong cord. Now ask a few selected children to tie a Christmas card on every package. These cards can be secured at any of the wholesale shops where pictorial post-cards can be obtained. You then with the aid of the older boys and girls trim the tree with these white gifts.