When his mother called him into the kitchen, Steven reluctantly left his game. "What do you want?" he asked irritably.

"Please take care of your books and sweep up the cookie crumbs you left on the floor," said Mom. "And don't eat any more cookies. I have just enough for the meeting at church."

"Well, don't leave them out in the open if you don't want them eaten," grumbled Steven with a scowl.

"Steven! That was rude!" exclaimed Mom. "I expect an apology."

"Sorry," muttered Steven. He got the broom, and Mom left to do laundry.

When his sister Kara came into the room, Steven was still sweeping. "Why are you doing that?" she asked in surprise.

"Beat it!" Steven growled. "Who asked you to stick your nose in?"

"Excuse me!" said Kara dramatically. "I came to tell you something, but now I don't know if I will." Steven punched her on the shoulder, and she darted behind the table. "Your coach called today," Kara said. "Mr. Williams wants to hire you to do some yard work. And guess what! He said to be sure to tell Mom he appreciates your respectful attitude! What a laugh!"

"I don't know what's so funny," said Steven.

"You are," retorted Kara. "I heard your Sunday school teacher carry on about you, too--telling Dad all about what a fine Christian you are! I guess you've got 'em all fooled, but I think you're just a . . . a sometimes Christian! You'd better not invite any of your teachers to our house. If they see how you act around here, they'll know what a phony you are." Suddenly Kara snapped her fingers. "On second thought, bring one home every day. Then maybe you'll act as nice here as you do in other places." With that, she headed for the family room. FULL POST

Photo: Flickr/dingbat2005 - Creative Commons

"Mom, just what is time?" asked Mitchell, setting his Bible down on the table.

His sister Jen looked up from the book she was reading. "Is this a joke?" she asked. "You know what time is. It's . . ." She shrugged. "How can anybody define it? It's a . . . a measurement, like from one o'clock to two o'clock. Or how long it takes you to eat breakfast."

"Well, how can time be redeemed?" Mitchell asked. "When we trust in Jesus, we say we're redeemed--or saved. But it says right here . . ." Mitchell held up his Bible. "This says, Redeeming the time because the days are evil.'"

"Oh, I see what you mean," said Mom. She thought for a moment. "Some words have more than one meaning," she added. "Take the word bark, for example. That can mean the sound your dog makes, or it can be the woody material around tree trunks and branches, right?Well, it's like that with the word redeem. The meaning of redeem in that verse isn't the same as Jesus saving us."

"Okay," murmured Mitchell, still feeling confused. "What does it mean then?"

"Well . . . it's kind of like my dad used to tell us when I was growing up on the farm," said Mom. "We raised hay. We had to mow it, let it dry, and get it into the barn quickly before it rained." FULL POST

"Look what Joshua did to my CD!" Nicole said angrily. "He's ruined it!" She turned toward her little brother, who sat at the table eating ice cream. "Don't you ever touch my CDs again!"

"I'm sorry, Nicole," Joshua said sadly. "It just broked."

"CDs don't just break!" Nicole argued. "You broke it. You were careless and now it's all scratched." She shook her finger at Joshua. "From now on, you leave my CDs alone!" she repeated as she went to her room to study.

The next afternoon Mom joined Nicole in her room. "How's the homework coming along?" asked Mom. "You had a test today, didn't you?"

"Yes, but most of us messed up on it," Nicole replied. "We didn't understand the problems very well, so Miss Nelson explained them again. We're having another test tomorrow. She's giving us a chance to bring our grades up." Nicole smiled. "Miss Nelson is a really nice teacher," she added.

Mom nodded. "I'd say it's good of her to give you a second chance," she said. A moment later she added thoughtfully, "Joshua sure could use a second chance, too."

Nicole looked puzzled. "Does Joshua have take tests in kindergarten? What did he mess up on?"

"I was thinking of your CD--the one he used yesterday--and I think he needs a second chance with you," explained Mom. "Don't you think you were a little hard on him? I don't think he's quite gotten over it--he's been very quiet today." FULL POST

Photo: Flickr/David Short - Creative Commons

Pill Bug

As Angela turned over a rock in the yard, she drew back. "Yuck! Look at all the icky bugs hiding under this rock, Mom!" she exclaimed. "They look like they're wearing armor.And they don't seem to like the light. I think they're looking for a dark place to hide."

Mom and Angela watched the bugs scurry around. "Those are sow bugs--or pill bugs--and I think you're right," Mom agreed. "The leader of my Bible study group used these bugs as an illustration a few weeks ago, and here they are!"

Angela glanced at her mother in surprise. "An illustration of what?"

"The lesson was on how we sometimes like to hold on to certain sins. Mrs. Denton pointed out that we scramble to find hiding places for the sin in our hearts just like these bugs are scurrying around, looking for dark hiding places," explained Mom. "We try to keep our sin in the dark--but God sees it!"

"You know what? My Sunday school teacher told us there are two kinds of sin," said Angela. "She said we commit sins of com . . . ah-h-h . . . commission and sins of omission." Angela was rather pleased with herself as she used the big words.

"And do you know what that means?" asked Mom with a smile.

Angela nodded. "Miss Laura explained the difference to us. The sins of commission are the bad things we think or do," answered Angela. "Like . . . it's a sin to cheat or lie or say something to hurt somebody." FULL POST

"Who will volunteer to sign this?" asked Miss Steele, showing her Sunday school class a sheet of paper.

"What's it for?" asked one of the kids as several hands went up.

"Well, when you sign it, you will be agreeing to do whatever I write on the paper," said Miss Steele. The hands promptly went back down. "It could be something like . . . mow my lawn, give me your allowance next week, come to a party, or maybe invite five people to Sunday school," continued Miss Steele. "It might be something hard--or easy. But you'll be glad if you do it. Now . . . who will sign this?" There were several giggles, but no volunteers. "Isn't there anyone who trusts me?" Miss Steele asked.

Finally, Gina raised her hand. "I'll sign it, Miss Steele," she said.

After Gina signed her name, Miss Steele took the paper again and began writing. Everyone eagerly waited to see what she wrote. When she finished, she handed the paper to Gina. "Read it out loud," instructed Miss Steele.

"Go to the table in the corner," Gina read, "and pick up the Bible you see there. Whatever you find under it is yours to keep." Gina jumped up and hurried to the table. "Oh-h-h," she squealed as she lifted the Bible and uncovered some money. "Thank you, Miss Steele." FULL POST

CRASH! The sound of shattering glass echoed through the house. Both Randy and his mother ran into the kitchen. "Oh, Jennifer! My new vase!" Mom exclaimed when they saw the little girl looking in dismay at pieces of a glass vase scattered all over the floor.

"I didn't mean to drop it," Jennifer sobbed. "It slided right out of my hands."

Mom nodded. "I see that," she said. "Right now I want you to go wait in your room before you get cut on this glass. I'll be there to talk to you in a minute, but first I need to clean up this mess." So Jennifer sadly went to her room while Mom picked up the biggest pieces of broken glass and Randy got the broom and dustpan.

"Jennifer should have known better than to touch the vase," said Randy with a frown, "but since she picked it up, she should have hung on tight and not let it slip out of her hands. It's pretty valuable, isn't it? I mean . . . it was."

"Well, not so very," said Mom, "though I liked it." She looked thoughtful. "Speaking of letting it slip away reminds me of the most valuable thing anyone has, but many people let it slip away," she added. "Any idea what that would be?"

"Ah . . . I'm sure you're not going to say it's money or a house or jewelry," said Randy slowly, trying to think of the right answer as he spoke. "Us kids, maybe? Or just any family members?" FULL POST

"What are you making, Mom?" Jody asked as she watched her mother's knitting needles move in and out.

"I'm making a baby sweater for one of the ladies at church," answered Mom. "Mrs. Pauley is having a baby next month."

"How come you do so many things like that for other people?" Jody asked. "It seems like you're always knitting or baking for somebody."

"I enjoy making things and giving them away," said Mom with a smile. "I think it's kind of like when you make something special at school and bring it to me."

"Yeah, but that's a little different," Jody replied. "I mean . . . you're my mom! But you do a lot of stuff for people you hardly know."

"Not as much as Dorcas did," Mom answered.

"Dorcas?" asked Jody. "Who's she? Do I know her?"

Mom smiled. "The book of Acts in the Bible tells about her," she explained. "Dorcas was also called Tabitha. She was a Christian and did many good deeds. She knew how to sew, and she devoted much of her energy and time to making clothes for poor people and widows. Dorcas was always helping others. I imagine she was also their friend and listened to their troubles and comforted them."

"I think I remember hearing about her in Sunday school," Jody said thoughtfully. FULL POST

Brett looked up from his plate as he and his family were eating supper. "You know what?" he asked, reaching for the salt shaker. "Today I remembered what Pastor Hughes said about witnessing and being the salt of the earth, and I decided to witness to Keith. He's always doing really bad stuff. Like . . . he swears sometimes, and he's mean to the little kids, and today I saw him cheat. So I told him he was a sinner headed straight for hell, and that he should repent."

"Whoa! Sounds like you came on a little strong," said Dad.

"I invited him to come to church, too," added Brett, "but he said he already goes. It must be a pretty stupid church he goes to if he isn't a Christian yet."

"I hope you didn't tell Keith that," said Dad. "Did you?"

"Well . . . sort of," Brett replied.

"Brett, if you insult the person you're talking to, he might get angry and become completely turned off to the Lord," warned Dad.

"I was just trying to witness," said Brett. "How could that ever be anything but good?" He frowned and started to sprinkle salt onto his potatoes. After just a few shakes, the top fell off and salt poured out onto his food. Brett looked in dismay at his plate.

Mom jumped up to help. "I guess I didn't put the top on tight when I filled the shakers," she said. FULL POST

The Johnson family stood looking at the huge oak tree lying across their front yard. During the night, a fierce storm had blown it down. "Wow!" exclaimed Natalie. "If that tree had fallen just a little farther this way, it would have hit the house!"

Dad nodded. "God surely takes good care of us," he said, placing his hand on Natalie's shoulder.

Mark eyed the short distance from the fallen tree to the house. "Yeah," he said in awe. "Our house isn't damaged at all."

"I hope I never forget all the things God has done for us," murmured Mom.

"But sometimes He lets bad things happen to us," said Natalie, "like when Grandma got hit by a car!"

"Yes, but even then, Grandma--and all of us--felt God's comfort and peace," said Dad. "We knew we could trust Him to care for us."

Mark nodded. "When I get scared, it helps to remember other times when I was scared but God took care of me," he said.

"We had a story in Bible club about how Samuel set up a stone and gave it a name--kind of a funny name that meant something like God helped us,'" Natalie remembered. "Our teacher called it a memorial rock because it was set up as a reminder that God had won a battle for Israel."

"You're thinking of the name Ebenezer," said Mom with a smile. FULL POST

Wendy eagerly answered the door as her friends began to arrive for the slumber party. "Take your stuff to the family room," she told the girls, "and help yourself to the munchies. When everybody's here, we'll play some games."

Soon the family room was filled with girls in pajamas. Wendy glanced at all the sleeping bags piled in the corner. "I wonder why Julie isn't here," she said. "I'm sure she was planning to come. I'm going to call and see if she's sick." Wendy went to the phone and dialed Julie's number. She was surprised when Julie herself answered. "Hi, Julie," said Wendy. "You didn't forget about my party, did you? I thought you'd be here long ago! Aren't you coming?"

"Well . . . I . . . ah," stammered Julie. "I . . . I didn't get an invitation or anything, so I didn't think I was supposed to come."

Wendy's heart sank. "Of course I want you to come! We've talked about it so much that I thought you automatically knew you were invited. Please come!"

"Okay!" Julie exclaimed eagerly. "I'll ask Dad. I'm sure he'll bring me right over!"

Later that evening, Wendy's mother gathered the girls together for a time of devotions. "I think we can all learn something from the little mix-up that took place here this evening," said Mom. "Julie knew about the party, and Wendy assumed that she would attend. We're so glad she's here now, but she didn't come until she received an invitation." FULL POST