Some generous friends gave Micah, our newest addition,  The Jesus Storybook Bible which 2 of his older sisters, Anna and Rebekah, have graciously decided to pre-read for their little brother. And the unanimous decision is… it’s awesome! They are always sad when a story ends and ask for another. I highly recommend this Bible for little ones as each story (Old and New testament) speaks of Jesus and our need for Our Savior.

The other day I was reading the story of Jonah to the girls and Anna, age 3,  was really taken by the narrative. She interrupted, pointing to the picture of Jonah in the water with the big fish lurking on the next page ready to swallow him up. “That’s so sad!” she emphatically declared. “He’s all wet and needs a band-aid. That’s so sad!”

How could I resist this teachable moment??? It was handed to me on a platter.

“Yes, it is sad, ” I replied with as much sadness on my face as I could muster, all the while trying not to laugh at her adorable little face, scrunched up in grief and sadness.

“Where did God tell Jonah to go?” I asked.

“To Ninevah!” Rebekah, age 4,  declared with gusto. She was quite proud that she had remembered the name of that strange city.

“Is that where Jonah went?” I countered.

“No, he went in the opposite direction,” Rebekah gravely answered. Which was echoed with a “That’s so sad,” by Anna who continued to look pained.

“Did he obey God?” I asked.

A chorus of “No’s” followed complete with heads shaking back and forth.

“That would be like me asking one of you to go to the bathroom and instead of obeying, you decided to run into the kitchen. You would be running in the opposite direction,” I explained.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Rebekah sadly replied. To which Anna threw in another, “That’s so sad!”

Very sad, indeed, Anna. Remember that.

Used with permission from the Forever Young blog