Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27, Luke 6:47-49) (01/18/24)
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TITLE: Jarod | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marilyn Meiners
01/23/24 -
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“What in the world is that boy up to now,” wondered mother. She could hear the frustration in three-year-old Jarods cry as she washed the breakfast dishes.
Leaving her dishes behind she peeked around the corner of the kitchen to her sons playroom. He was trying to build a garage with his blocks. Blocks of every color lay scattered at his feet; an exasperated look on his face.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” Mom asked.
“It’s these dumb blocks. They won’t stay stacked for me. They keep fallin’ down. I hate them!”
“Slow down young man. There’s nothing wrong with the blocks. You need to build them right if you want them to stay stacked. First of all, building them on the rocker isn’t the best foundation. Of course they will fall,” replied mother.
“Foun-da-tion. What’s a foun-da-tion?” Asked Jarod, as he slowly pronounced the strange word.
“Remember the song you learned in Sunday School last week? We were singing it this morning over breakfast.”
“Yah, you mean ‘the foolish man built his house upon the sand….’ “Jarod started singing in a loud voice.
“That’s the one. What happened when the foolish man build his house on the sand.”
“Well,” Jarod brought his hands together, “The house went SMASH! And it fell down.”
“That’s right. Do you know why it fell down.”
Jarod scrunched his nose as he thought. “Cause the sand was too soft I guess,” answered Jarod
“Yep,” mom said. “Buildings need to be built on something very solid so they won’t teeter and totter and fall down. They need a strong foundation to stand on. A too-soft-foundation will cause the building to fall - SMASH to the ground.”
Jarod laughed at this thought, then started to sway back and forth, finally falling to the ground.
SMASH!!
“Hmmmm,” Jarod said while getting up from the floor.
“Then where should I put my building,” asked Jarod as he looked at the multi-colored blocks lying around him.
“Well, for beginners,” mom suggested as she sat down on the floor with Jarod, “let’s get them organized into the various sizes. This will help us when we want to put your building together.”
Mom and son began working at sorting the blocks. When they were finished Jarod stood and announced, “Okay, now we can build. But where are we going to do that mommy?”
“Let’s use the floor as our foundation. It’s smooth and sturdy. I think the blocks will stand just find here.”
“Goody! Let’s do it.” Jerod clapped his hands and knelt beside mom as the two of them began building. They laid the first four large blocks in a big square, making sure each piece was aligned with the next one. For the second layer mom said, “Let’s use this yellow block for the cornerstone on this building.”
“Huh? What’s a cornerstone mommy?”
“A cornerstone is the key to keeping the walls straight. You don’t want to build a crooked building, now, do you?”
Jarod laughed at this thought. “No, mommy, that would be crazy, then in a sing-song voice, Jerod began quoting a nursery rhyme he had memorized….
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile; He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
Guess that man didn’t know what a cornerstone was, huh mommy?
“Apparently not,” mom laughed along with Jarod.
“Okay, let’s get this building built,” gestured Jarod.
Jarod carefully laid each block. Row upon row, being careful they were aligned and even. Fifteen minutes later they had a beautiful two-foot high building constructed - on solid ground I might add.
Jerod stood back and admired what they had done. He even jumped up and down to see if the building would stand.
It did.
“Now I can use this as my garage to put my cars in. It’s not gonna’ fall down cause I builded it on solid ground, right mommy?”
“Yes you did, buddy. Just like in the song. If you build something on solid ground it is going to stay upright and strong, but if you build something on soft or uneven ground, what will happen Jarod?”
“It will go SMASH and fall down.”
Jarod began singing, “A wise man built his house upon the ground and the house on the ground stood FIRM!
Just like my house, right mommy?”
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