'Did God really make the world?' Ralph asked his Dad. 'A boy in my class said that there used to be only dust in space and strong winds blew all the dust together and that is how the world happened.'

'It just shook together?' Dad smiled. 'Do you think that could happen?'

'I don't know.' Ralph sighed. 'This boy said his father doesn't believe the Bible - he says it's not true.'

'Just got blown together?' Dad repeated. 'Tell you what, Ralph. Go get your little sister's crossword puzzle - the one with only 12 pieces. I'm going to fix up this big fan.'

When Ralph came back Dad tumbled the puzzle pieces into a big basin and set the electric fan so it sent a strong breeze into the basin. All the pieces jumped around.'Shouldn't be long until the puzzle comes together. This is a lot easier than making a world,' Dad said.

'I don't think it's going to work,' Ralph replied. And he was right. Dad let the fan blow through the whole weekend. On Monday morning, not one piece of the puzzle had linked to another.

'Now take a look at the heavens, Ralph. The sun, the moon, the stars; do you really think they could just happen? Think about Spring-time and harvest. Could all that happen by chance? And do you think that something as wonderful as you could just happen because the wind blew some dust? No.' Dad put his hand on Ralph's shoulder. 'God made it all.'

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that You are the great Creator and that You love everything You made. Amen.

Jerry wasn't allowed to look in his Dad's private drawer. His friends, Danny and Herb, dared him to. So he did. And he found a bag of tobacco, cigarette paper and matches. He took enough to make three cigarettes. Then the boys went to the woodshed.

When he drove on to the yard, Jerry's Dad heard laughter. He saw smoke coming from the open window of the wood-shed. Bursting in on the boys, he scolded them for what they were doing.  'Where did you get that evil stuff?' he shouted.

'Dad, I took it from a drawer close to your bed,' Jerry confessed.

Dad was furious. 'What is in that drawer is none of your business, do you understand!'

Jerry's five-year old sister Emily, who had heard Dad's voice, came into the shed. 'Hi, Daddy,' she called. She ran to him and took his hand. 'Ouch!' she cried.

Everybody looked at Dad's hand. He had forgotten - he was holding a lit cigarette.

As the boys stared, Dad seemed to be searching for words. He was quiet for a long time. Then he said, 'I am trying to keep you boys from forming a bad habit.' He looked at little Emily. 'I'm sorry, dear.' Then he said to the boys, 'And I'm sorry that I am not a good example.' He threw the cigarette out the door and stamped on it. 'That is my last cigarette. And I don't want to catch you boys smoking again, either.'

Jerry stepped close to Dad. 'I won't smoke again, Dad,' he promised.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that You can help Dads and children to know and do Your will. Amen.

Jake Peters. Winnipeg, Canada.

Mom and Dad helped Jimmy paint his room a nice light blue with a dark blue and white border. Now Jimmy could arrange it any way he liked. He picked up his favorite poster and looked around.

'I think it would be best on the wall opposite the window. It gets all the light there and you can see it from your bed,' Mom suggested. 'Also, we left that picture hanger in the wall so you wouldn't have to mark up the paint.'

'It's my room,' Jimmy thought. 'I'll put the poster where I want to.' Out loud he said, 'No, Mom, I'll put it over here, opposite the door.'

'Okay. You could use double-sided tape to stick it to the wall,' Mom said.

'No, Mom. I'll use a thumb-tack.' Jimmy stuck the thumb-tack through the poster into the wall. The poster was too heavy for the thumb-tack. It fell to the floor, leaving a little hole on the freshly-painted wall.

Mom sighed and left the room. Jimmy got his stapler and stapled the poster on each corner. It was a bit wavy in the middle so he stuck in a few more staples there too.

Lying in bed that night, Jimmy felt strangely troubled. 'I can't see my poster from here,' he thought. 'In the morning, I'll move it where Mom said.'

Next morning, Jimmy pulled out all the staples and hung the poster in its new spot. When he turned he saw the holes and scratches the staples had left on his newly-painted wall. It was a mess. 'Oh,' Jimmy thought. 'I wish I'd listened to Mom.'

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for our parents. Help us to heed their good advice. Amen.

Jake Peters. Winnipeg, Canada.

Johnny lay on his bed looking out of the window. He could see stars - millions of stars - more stars than he could ever count. In his imagination Johnny heard the God of heaven calling him to come up to travel among the stars.

'I would like to do that, Lord,' Johnny whispered sleepily. 'But there's a lot of darkness up there, too.'

From the blanket of stars above, one star began to shine brighter and brighter. To Johnny, it seemed that this bright star also grew larger and larger and came closer and closer. Soon it was so close and so bright that Johnny had to shut his eyes.

Kitchen sounds woke Johnny. Mom was making breakfast. At the table, he told her about the stars. 'Must have been a dream,' he muttered.

'Perhaps,' Mom replied. 'But what a nice dream. It reminds me of the Star that led the wise men to Jesus.'

'Yes,' Johnny's Dad added. 'It reminds me of something else.' He reached for the family Bible. 'It reminds me of Jesus, the bright and morning star. He came to bring light in the darkness.'

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You that You are the light of the world. Amen.

Jake Peters. Winnipeg, Canada.

One day, Joey pulled an orange out of his pocket. He split it with his younger brother, Danny.

'Where did you get that?' Danny asked.

'From the store. I stole it.' Joey told him.

Danny thought his brother was a real hero. 'Was it hard to do?'

'I backed up against a big orange box and put one into my back pocket' Joey said. 'It's easy. Tomorrow, you can try.'

Next day, the boys went to the same store. Danny backed up to the big box and put an orange into his back pocket. On their way home Danny tore the orange in half and took a bite.

'Yuck. It's sour,' he shouted.

'That's not an orange, Danny! It's a lemon.' Joey told him. The boys threw away the lemon. When they got home, the storekeeper was at their house, talking to their Dad.

'Tell Dad we didn't do it,' Joey whispered. 'There's no proof.'

'Come here, boys.' Dad spoke sternly. 'Let me smell your hands.' He sniffed at the boys' hands then gave the storekeeper some coins.

'Lemon. I'm afraid you're right. I will look after this,' Dad said to the storekeeper. 'And I'm sorry that my boys have brought shame on them and on me.'

The boys felt bad.

'I have forgiven you - and paid for what you stole,' Dad told them. 'If you tell God you're sorry, He will forgive you and help you not to steal again.'

Joey and Danny both did what Dad said - and they never stole again.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for helping me not to steal. And thank You for forgiving all my sins. Amen.

Jake Peters. Winnipeg, Canada.