"Unmeasurable Love"

“Unmeasurable Love”

By:  Karen Frantz

 

It was the first week of school, and Jenny was really quite happy with how things were going.  She really liked her teacher, Ms. Lyons, and she had made friends with two other girls that she liked, and got along with really well.  So it looked like it was shaping up to be a good year for her.

 

On the third day of school, Ms. Lyons, told Jenny’s class to take out their rulers.  When everyone had their rulers out, she begin to teach them how to use them.  Then she offered everyone a challenge.  They were to go home and take their rulers and measure things.  They were to write down the item, and how wide, and how long the item was.  The person with the most items would win a prize, and the person who had measured the most unusual item would win a prize too. 

 

Well, this excited Jenny, when she got home she went right to work measuring all kind of things.  She was working hard, trying to do it just right, and then she stopped and realized that she needed to find something unusual.  She looked and looked inside, then went outside.  Living in the country, you would think that it would be easy to find something unusual.

 

 She looked and looked, then she found it.  It was an old, abandoned well, the sides of the well were lined with OLD bricks, those bricks were over a hundred years old, and Jenny thought, if she could measure just one of those bricks, she could win one of the prizes.

 

She had forgotten that her Dad had placed a big, heavy, piece of wood on top of the old well, and had posted warning signs all around it.    Now if she could just move the big, heavy piece of wood off a little, she could measure at least one of the bricks.  So she put her notebook, pencil and ruler down on the ground, beside the well.

 

Then she began to push and shove, push and shove with ALL her might, when finally, she managed to get an opening.  She picked up her ruler, notebook and pencil, when her ruler slipped from her fingers and she leaned over trying to catch it, but she lost her balance, and down, down, down she fell into the dark, damp, cold, smelly well, but somehow, there was a bed of soggy old leaves on the bottom, and that was where Jenny landed.  However, her wrist hurt badly, and she began to cry a little, then she stopped and started yelling for HELP! 

 

After what seemed like forever, Jenny noticed light flickering, in the darkness of the old well, it was from some flashlights, then she heard her Dad yelling,  “Jenny, are you ok?”  “Yeah, Dad, I think I hurt my wrist.”  Jenny cried.  “Ok, dear, we are going to get a ladder and we’ll have you out of there real soon!”  Her Dad said, in a comforting tone.

 

Well, they did get Jenny out of the well, without any problems.  And even though she didn’t get to measure the brick, Ms. Lyons said that she deserved a prize for ALL of her hard work.  And her Dad had the old well filled in the next day. 

 

“You know Jenny there are some things you can’t measure, like the air and the sky, and we can’t measure God’s love, either.  The Bible tells us that God is LOVE and NO ONE has ever seen God, unless they have seen Jesus, because God is a SPIRIT.  And we have NO way of measuring LOVE, because we can’t see it.  We can ONLY feel it and see the effects of it.  And we feel God’s LOVE for us, when we give our heart to Him.”  Her Mom said.   Jenny smiled and said, “Thank you God, for your UNMEASURABLE LOVE!”

"The Eyes of the Lord!"

“The Eyes of the Lord!”

By: Karen Frantz

 

 

Jimmy loved watching ants and other insects.  One day his Dad brought him a gift.  It was a magnifying glass, so he could get a close-up view of all the creepy crawlies.  Jimmy couldn’t wait to get outside to watch the ants work.

 

The next day was a Saturday, so Jimmy hurriedly got dressed, ate his breakfast, and grabbed a little piece of donut as he went out the door.  He found an ant bed at the end of his sidewalk. He crumbled the little piece of donut into teeny crumbs, then he waited, it wasn’t long before a number of little, bitty, black ants came out of the ant bed and began picking up the pieces of donut, which was much bigger than the ant, and Jimmy remembered that he had read that ants could lift twenty times their body weight.   But that didn’t slow down the little, bitty, black ants, who worked diligently getting the crumbs into the ant bed. 

 

Jimmy watched them through his new magnifying glass, giggling with delight as he watched the ants, working to get the pieces of donut crumbs to their nest.  He loved his magnifying glass, it was really cool to be able to watch the little, black ants.

 

Then Jimmy began to notice other insects crawling and flying around, he watched a cricket hopping through the grass, and a caterpillar crawling along the side of a flat rock.  At lunch time, Jimmy’s Mom called him in, to wash up for lunch. When Jimmy came into the kitchen to eat, he was anxious to tell his Mom about ALL the neat things he saw up close with his magnifying glass. 

 

Then Jimmy got quiet, munching on a sandwich, then he said, “Mom, does God have a magnifying glass so he can watch us up close?”                                                                       

“No, Jimmy, God doesn’t need a magnifying glass, but he does watch us.  The Bible tells us that the Lord looks down and sees ALL mankind, He watches ALL the people who live on earth.  It also tells us that the eyes of the Lord are on those who honor Him.  And He doesn’t need a magnifying glass to do that, because He is GOD!”  His Mom replied.

 

“Oh!” Jimmy said, “well, I really like my magnifying glass, and I NEED it to see ALL of God’s little, creepy crawlies.” 

 

 

"Crucified With Christ"

“Crucified With Christ”

 

For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin---because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.          Romans 6:6-7

 

Just what does it mean to be “crucified” with Christ?  I think the Apostle Paul explains it really quite well in these verses of Scripture.  When a person comes to Christ with a TRULY repentant heart, their old, sinful, wretched, corrupt body is symbolically nailed to the cross of Christ, and that body that was once ruled by sin is done away with, and they are no longer slaves to sin because they have been set free from the sins that have ruled their heart.

 

When we come to Christ for the redemption of our soul, we become a NEW creation, and it is Christ that lives in us, by the power of His Holy Spirit.  But since we are still in the flesh, we sometimes fall to temptations and sin, because the flesh is weak, however we are no longer “SLAVES” to the sin, and the work of the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, is to convict us of those sins, and when we CONFESS the sin, He is FAITHFUL to FORGIVE us of that sin, because we are REDEEMED, we have an advocate in Heaven, who pleads our case before Father God, and we are FORGIVEN, and set FREE  from sin.

 

Those who CONTINUE in their old, wretched, sinful lifestyle, after they walk the aisle or repeat a prayer, and live as a slave to that sinful lifestyle without guilt or confession, needs to check their salvation.  You CANNOT get fire insurance by just walking the aisle or even repeating a prayer, in other words, just walking the aisle or repeating a prayer does NOT keep you out of Hell.   You MUST come with a REPENTANT HEART, being wooed by the Holy Spirit of the Living God, when He starts pulling on those HEART strings and you realize that you are a SINNER in need of a Savior, then you, in ALL sincerity come to Christ, and are then CRUCIFIED with Him, and are set FREE from your burden of sin.

 

If you have rejected Christ and have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you are a SLAVE to your sins, and are headed to Hell for ALL of eternity.  But you NOW have the opportunity to turn that all around by coming to Christ and being CRUCIFIED with Him, nailing your old, wretched sinful soul to the cross and receiving the newness of life in Christ Jesus.  You do that by:  CONFESSING your sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT God’s gift of SALVATION and be set FREE from your sinful lifestyle.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

 

"Mikey's First 'For Real' Camp-out!"

“Mikey’s First ‘For Real’ Camp-out!”

 

 

Mikey was seven years old, well, he had just turned seven a week ago.  He lived on a ranch with his mom and dad, and his baby sister Ella.

 

Mikey was SO excited, because his Dad was taking him out to their pond for a “guys only” camp-out.  They were going to sleep out under the stars by the campfire, and they did go prepared, they had brought a tent along, just in case, it rained.

 

It was Mikey’s very first “for real” camp-out.  It was a cool, fall evening so they built a nice big, warm campfire and roasted hot dogs, with all the trimmings, and then they roasted big, plump, soft, marshmallows.  YUM! YUM!  They were mouthwatering, GOOD and STICKY.  They unrolled their sleeping bags close enough to the campfire to stay warm and far enough to be safe. 

 

Dad had brought his rifle, just in case they had a run-in with any coyotes.  They had also brought along their German Shepherd Dog, Bruno, after all it was a “guys only” camp-out.  When they were all settled into their sleeping bags.  Mikey was gazing up at all the hundreds of stars twinkling above their heads.

“Wow! Dad, I didn’t know there were so many stars.”  He said. 

“Yep there is a sky full of them.”  His Dad replied with a chuckle.    Mikey was trying to get sleepy, but it wasn’t easy, with all the different kinds of noises; crickets chirping, frogs singing, and all of a sudden he heard what sounded to him like a big dog howling , at that same moment, Bruno began to  growl and bark.

“Wow, was that a dog?”  Mikey asked

“No, Son, it was a coyote, and that’s why I brought the rifle along to keep us safe.   I think we should put Bruno on his chain and keep him close by.”  His Dad replied. 

“Will the coyote come here?”  Mikey asked.

“He might!”  His Dad replied.

Then they heard the howl again, this time it sounded a little closer.  Bruno was lunging and barking a lot, but finally Mikey’s Dad got him calmed down a little.

“Dad is that coyote, what killed our newborn calves?”  Mikey asked.

“I believe it sure could be.”  His Dad replied

“Dad, what makes animals attack other animals and eat them?”  Mikey asked.

“Well, Mikey, when God created this world, everything was perfect.  All of the animal, ALL of them, even the big ferocious bears, and dinosaurs were all plant eating animals.  Then when Adam and Eve sinned, killing and death came into the hearts and minds of ALL of God’s creation even mankind.  So a lot of animals turned from eating plants to eating meat.”  His Dad explained. 

 

About that time Bruno started barking and lunging a lot.  Mikey and his Dad both took their flashlights, and started looking at the edge of the pond and there stood a BIG coyote, teeth blared and growling , Mikey’s Dad slowly picked up his rifle took careful aim and just as the coyote jumped towards Bruno he pulled the trigger and shot the coyote.

 

Mikey was somewhat shaken by what had just taken place.  He knew his Dad had to kill the coyote to protect Bruno, but Mikey loved animals and it upset him to see the coyote die.  They cut their camp-out short and headed back to the house.

“You see, Mikey, sin changes things and not for the good, but it only brings about bad things.”  His Dad told him.

When they got back home, Mom fixed them big, steaming mugs of hot chocolate with big, plump, sweet soft, white, melt-in-your-mouth marshmallows.  This helped Mikey relax and soon he fell asleep.  It had been a true, ‘for real’ camping trip. 

 

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness.

God saw how corrupt the earth was for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth.  Genesis 6:11-12

 

"Billy and Johnny Make the Right Choices"

“Billy and Johnny Make the Right Choices”

 

 

Johnny and Billy were friends, and they spent a lot of time together.  They played ball together, they rode their bikes together, they went fishing together, and they like to skate-board together. 

 

Billy went to church, and had just, recently accepted Jesus into his heart.  He had invited Johnny to go with him a couple of times, and Johnny went once, but wouldn’t go again.   But Billy didn’t give up on him. 

 

One day the bully at their school had seen Johnny and Billy skate-boarding so he grabbed Johnny around his arm and got right in his face, and said:  “Meet me at the hill on Main Street!”  Main Street was a street that all the skate-boarders liked, because it was a steep hill with a big dip and a small rise on the other side of the big dip:  “Meet me there at 4:30, today, me and you we’re going to have a race, if I win, I can beat you up.  If you win, I won’t beat you up, and you better be there!” 

 

Billy looked at Johnny, with fear in his eyes, he said:  “Johnny, what are you going to do?” 

 

“Well, I plan on winning the race and you’re going to help me!”  Johnny replied.

 

How will I help you?”  Billy asked.

 

“Well, first of all, when no one’s around the bike rack, you go loosen the wheels, on Jerrod’s skateboard, but not too loose, so he won’t notice, but just loose enough for him to lose the race.”  Johnny replied.

Now Billy knew that could get Jerrod hurt so he said:  “That might hurt him, can’t we find another way to win?”

“Look, he’ll hurt me if we don’t do this.”  Johnny said.

 

Billy looked at Johnny and said, “It’s the wrong thing to do and I can’t do it, it might hurt him bad.”   

 

“Oh go on, I’ll do it myself, but don’t you dare tell anyone, because if you do I’ll never be your friend.”  Johnny said.

 

Well, 4:30 came and a lot of kids gathered at the top of the steep hill to watch the race.  The boys took their skateboards and Johnny had his helmet and pads on, but Jerrod didn’t, he said that a helmet and pads were for sissies.

 

A freckled-face boy counted and blew a whistle, and off they flew at a very fast pace.  Billy watched as the skate-board flew out from under Jerrod and he landed on the pavement at the bottom of the steep hill.  He was holding his knee and screaming to the top of his lungs.

 

Billy looked at Johnny, Johnny shrugged his shoulders; “I didn’t do it!  I didn’t touch his board.  I thought about what you said and I couldn’t do it.”  Billy smiled and patted Johnny on the shoulder. 

 

It seemed that Jerrod had broken his leg just below his knee and would be out of school for the rest of the year.  Billy and Johnny was relieved that Jerrod would not be back at school, for a while anyway.

 

Billy told Johnny, “I prayed that you would not get beat up!”  Johnny smiled, “well, I guess I’ll just have to come to church with you sometime!” he said.

1 John 3:22 says:  “He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey Him and do what pleases Him.”

"Horace's Fall Frenzy"

“Horace’s Fall Frenzy”

Marcie and Jimmy are brother and sister and they lived on a BIG farm, with horses, cows, chickens, goats and pigs.  One of their Hogs they named Horace, now Horace was getting really BIG, he like to ‘Pig-out’ when it was feed time, and he had developed quite an attitude.  He was cantankerous, and stubborn as an old mule.  But Marcie and Jimmy had brought him up from a little pink piglet, and to them Horace was “Special.”

Now every year, at the beginning of fall, Marcie and Jimmy’s dad held a big fall bar-b-cue for all the farmers with-in a three mile radius of their farm.  They would all bring vegetables and desserts, and Marcie and Jimmy’s dad provided the ribs, chicken, and hamburgers, with all the trimmings. 

There was always enough DELICIOUS food, so much, you could feed an entire Army.  There were a couple of things that Marcie and Jimmy really liked and that was, hot buttery, corn-on-the-cob, and Mrs. McNally’s homemade, triple-decker chocolate cake with thick chocolate, melt-in-your-mouth, fudge icing, YUM! YUM!  And gallons of icy-cold, sweet tea. 

All the kids loved playing games and going on a hay-ride all around the BIG farm.  Well just before the dinner bell was to ring.  Horace couldn’t stand it any longer, the smell of all the DELICIOUS food was getting to him, so he rammed the gate to his pen and took off running as fast as his chubby little feet would go.  Before anyone could stop him, he was upon the table, headed for the HOT, BUTTERY CORN-ON-THE–COB, one more step and the table flipped over scattering ALL the vegetables, with Horace running after the corn cobs that were rolling across the yard.  And Mrs. McNally’s triple-layer, chocolate cake with the thick, chocolatey, fudge icing landed on Mr. Snodgrass’ bald head.

Finally Marcie and Jimmy’s dad, got hold of Horace and carted him back to his pen, but only after he had eaten ALL the corn-on-the-cob.  Their dad, in his anger said,  “It’s time to make some hams and bacon out of you, old boy!” 

Marcie and Jimmy’s hearts were broken, “surely Dad won’t do that to Horace?” Jimmy said.  The next morning, Marcie, Jimmy, and their mom and dad were having breakfast, and Jimmy said, “Dad, please don’t make Horace into hams and bacon, you know he’s REALLY sorry.  Can’t you forgive him and give him another chance, you know Dad, like God does with us.  He forgives us and gives us a lot of chances PLEASE!!”  Jimmy pleaded.

Well, Marcie and Jimmy’s dad looked into their tear-filled eyes as the pleaded for Horace’s life.  “Oh, ok, ONE more chance, and I‘ll forgive him this time.” Dad said.   And they were all happy, Horace had been rescued.

God forgives us and not just ONE time, but many times and He gives us many chances to make things right with Him.   Ephesians 4:32 tells us to: “Be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.”

For those interested, I have a Children's book with 45 stories just like these that you can purchase on Amazon.com, and Books A Million.com.  The title of the book is:  Children's Parables,  author: Karen Frantz, Publisher:  Westbow Press   Thanks,  I will be posting more stories here too. 
Enjoy them with your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or your children's church.
Happy Story time!!

Karen Frantz