Reading Psalms and Playing with Fire at the Virtual EBook Fair
Book 1: Genesis People
Book 2: Exodus Tales
Book 3: Joshua's Journeys
Book 4: Psalm Stories
so here's a sample from Book 5: More Psalm Stories
Since the last sample was a story about playing with fire, I decided to pick another fire story for this week.
~ 81 ~
Psalm
81:11-12 “But my people did not listen to my voice; …So I gave them over to
their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.”
God wishes his people would listen to him. And this little boy’s mother
wishes he would listen to her.
Once there was
a little boy called Toby who’d only just learned to walk. He followed his
mother around everywhere, toddling behind her from room to room and crying
loudly if he couldn’t work out where she was.
Toby’s mother
put a safety gate across the kitchen doorway to keep Toby out. She put another
gate across the top of the stairs, and another across the bottom, to make sure
he couldn’t climb or fall. And she put a really big gate in front of the fire
so Toby couldn’t burn himself.
Toby’s mother
told Toby what all the gates were for. She said, “Kitchen’s can hurt you,” and,
“Fires are hot,” and, “Toby might fall on the stairs.” Then Toby would stand at
the kitchen gate while Mom was cooking and say, “Kitchen hurt. Kitchen hurt,
Mommy.” And he would smile sweetly.
One day Toby’s
Mom took Toby with her to visit a friend. The friend didn’t have any little
children, so she didn’t have gates across the kitchen or the stairs or the
fireplace. She did have a metal grate in front of the fire, so that nothing
could fall into it. Toby thought the metal grate looked really interesting, and
he toddled toward it.
“Fires are
hot,” said his mother.
“Fire hot,”
said Toby, smiling happily.
“Fire might
hurt Toby,” said his mother.
“Fire hurt?”
asked Toby, looking confused.
“Yes,” said
his mother. “Fire hurt.”
The other lady
brought some toast into the living room. She put the plate down in front of the
fire so the fire could keep it warm. Toby reached out to grab some toast from
the plate but his mother stopped him. “Fires are hot, Toby. Fire hurts,” she
said and she gave Toby some toast from her own plate which wasn’t hot.
Toby sat down
on the floor to eat his toast. Then he got up and started to toddle toward the
fire again.
“Toby, fires
hurt,” warned his mother.
“Toby want
toast,” said Toby, continuing to walk.
“Toby, stop,”
said his mother. But Toby didn’t stop. He walked forward with his hand reaching
out in front of him, closer and closer and closer, toward the hot metal grate.
Until he touched it. Then Toby jumped back and screamed and screamed and
screamed until his mother put her arms around him.
“Fire hurt,”
shouted Toby.
“Yes Toby,”
said his mother. “Fires do hurt.”
And now, Toby
knew.
Toby got hurt when he wouldn’t listen to his mother, but perhaps that’s
one mistake he won’t make again. And perhaps if we listen to God we won’t get
hurt so much either. Let’s pray.
O Lord, please forgive us for the times when we don’t listen.
Please protect us when we fail to follow your instructions.
Please don’t let us get hurt too much.
Please comfort us when we do get hurt
and please help us do better next time.
If you enjoyed this story, please go to http://capearagopress.com/Five-Minute.html to find out more.
You can purchase More Psalm Stories on your kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Psalm-Stories-Five-Minute-Bible-ebook/dp/B00ASE1I0Y/
And then, don't forget to go back to the virtual book fair and find more great e-reads.
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