{"id":25085,"date":"2019-07-09T07:17:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T14:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ordinary-fan.flywheelsites.com\/?p=25085"},"modified":"2021-09-24T20:16:22","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T03:16:22","slug":"dont-blame-the-mud-by-marty-machowski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeemedreader.com\/dont-blame-the-mud-by-marty-machowski\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Blame the Mud by Marty Machowski"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don’t Blame the Mud introduces children to the concept of indwelling sin in a way that they can relate to and grasp.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t Blame the Mud: Only Jesus Makes Us\nClean<\/em><\/strong> by Marty Machowski. \nNew Growth Press, 2019, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reading Level: <\/strong>Picture\nBook, ages 4-8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommended for: <\/strong>ages 4-10, and their parents<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy troubles began one spring day as I was walking home from school.\u201d Max is the narrator, a lively boy in a button-down shirt and tie.\u00a0 Mom\u2019s rule is very clear: Come home and change your good clothes before going out to play.\u00a0 Yes, but . . . it\u2019s a beautiful day and the fresh puddles made by the last rain are so<\/em> inviting. He has enough experience to stay clean and steer clear of the mud, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alert reader can guess what happens next. But he or she might wonder about the Mud, a ghostly, gleeful figure who follows Max home after the inevitable happens. What does that figure represent? Why is it still around even after Max takes a shower? What does it take to get the Mud to go away?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The catchy title is an invitation to examine the nature of sin from a child\u2019s perspective.\u00a0 Most of us tend to think better of ourselves than we should, a preference that begins even before we\u2019re aware of it.\u00a0 Churchgoing children learn to say, \u201cJesus died for my sins,\u201d but it takes experience (often bitter) to learn what that really means.\u00a0 Machowski, author of The Ology<\/a><\/em><\/strong> <\/a>as well as many family devotional guides (like this one<\/a><\/strong>), zeroes in on sin\u2019s subtle lures and self-deceptive powers.\u00a0 The simple story and illustrations raise good discussion questions (see previous paragraph), followed by a guide for parents about helping children understand their sin and the good news of the gospel.\u00a0 Don’t Blame the Mud <\/em>might not be a book you read over and over, but once it’s served its purpose, it would be an excellent donation to your church library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cautions<\/strong>:\nNone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall Rating: 4.5<\/strong> (out of 5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n