Hard Times

As the beautiful little girl sat quietly on the edge of her bed, her
brother—a smallish, brown haired boy—came running into her room to
tell her some exciting news.

"Sissy! Sissy! Are you there?"

Kristi, this was the girl's name, smiled calmly.

"Yes, I am here. What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Joe looked excitedly at his sibling. His whole body seemed to be
shivering with eagerness. His little hands swayed back and forth
beside his tiny body. And as he spoke, his voice trembled.

"I have just over heard mommy and daddy talking about going to a new house!"

Kristi answered politely, "That is called 'moving', Joe."

His little hands were swaying even harder now, and his little legs
were pumping up and down. It looked like he wanted to shout. But,
instead he simply looked up at his kind sister who was smiling with
delight and said:

"Sissy?"

"Yes?" Kristi said composing him gently.

He looked down and then back up.

I can't wait, and he smiled as he looked up.

Kristi replied,"I am sure it will be fun." And she smiled, too.

After sitting in a moment of peace she hugged her brother and said, "Let's pray."

She prayed a prayer I will never forget. She said:

Dear lord, I thank you that you have our family safe. I hope that you will help us if we are moving. I know that you know if we are moving or not. Please help Joe to become a Christian at some point during his sweet little lifetime. I know you have a plan for him just like you have a plan for me and for everyone else in this world. Even if I don't know what your plan is I can still pray that you will show me through your word. I hope that Joe marries a good Christian woman, and I hope they stick together forever and never divorce. You know what is going to happen so I will let you handle the rest. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN.

When the prayer was over her brother leaned toward her.

"Guess what?" he asked.

His sister still had her head down. So he tried again. This time he
said it more 'silly'.

"Hello? … anybody home?"

Kristi started giggling. Then, it turned to laughter.
After Kristi had a good laugh Joe still wasn't laughing.

"Sissy, this is serious."

"Oh, sorry "she said " I wasn't laughing at you."

"I know that, but guess what…?"

"What!?" Kristi asked with excitement.

"I got saved!" he blurted out.

"Oh that's great Joe! Let me get mom and dad."

"No, no, no" he cried, "Please don't tell them. I want it to be a
surprise. I will tell them at supper time."

"Oh, alright."

Kristi loved her brother so much she didn't want to spoil it for him.
~~~~~~~~
It quickly became supper time, and when they sat down to eat Joe told them.

He started by saying "Mommy, Daddy I need to tell you something."

"What is it sweetie?" asked Kate Robins, their mother.

"Yes, is anything wrong?" asked their father, Matthew Robins.

Joe quickly put in, "No, nothing is wrong."

"In fact," Kristi added, "Something very good happened."

"So, how long have you know about this?" asked Mrs. Robins.

Kristi said, " Um... Joe tell your good news!"

"Okay, I will," He said, "Mommy, Daddy...I got saved!"

Mrs. Robins, Mr. Robins, and Kristi laughed with delight as Joe just
sat there beaming with pride.

He beamed until he could not beam any more.

"So," Kristi said " Was I right or what?"

"Yes" Mrs. Robins said "It is wonderful news."

"After we got finished praying about us moving I-"

Mrs. Robins interrupted, "Whoa, hold on there. Who said we were moving?"

Joe slid his hand up slowly.

"Joe, I know you are only five and don't know what things mean, but
unfortunately, we aren't moving."

"Well, then what WERE you talking about," Kristi asked.

"Um…well… you see things haven't been working out with us, and…" she
paused and then sighed.

"And what…?!" They both asked at the same time.

We are getting divorced.
Next, there were two little gasps. Then, there was a long, hard, cold silence.Kristi broke the silence.

"Why would you even think of doing this?!" She asked.

"Well," her father began, "because we have decided that we think it is the
best thing to do."

Tears started pouring out of her eyes, and she ran upstairs to her
room. Her brother looked at them, but said nothing. He ran up the
stairs, not crying but calling out: "Kristi, Kristi."

The parents looked at each other and Mrs. Robins said, "What have we done?"

~~~~~~~~~

When Joe walked into Kristi's room, he knew what to expect. Her room was pink all over, and had lots of flowers. Joe called it "girl-ish," but girls LOVE pink so it didn't bother Kristi. Then, right when he got in Kristi's room, he saw Kristi's small girl-ish figure laying face down on her bed, crying.
"It's OK, sissy" Joe tried to calm her down.

"NO, IT'S NOT....." she replied.
"I'm sorry," she added, "I'm just very frustrated, please understand."

Joe was VERY smart for a five year old. He understood. He was not like other k-5 year olds. In fact, he was so smart people thought he was in second grade! He was about as tall as Kristi since she is short. But, Kristi is in 5th grade! ANYWAY, their conversation semed like it went on for a long time,but then Joe took Kristi's bible from her nightstand next to her bed.

"Look at this verse," Joe said.
She read it.
" It's Romans 3:23, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Kristi quickly answered.

"That's right," Joe added, "And that means even mom and dad sin! So you don't need to be mad at them...I know it's hard to forgive them for doing something that the Bible says is wrong, but we have to do it!"

"But the bad thing is, THEY KNOW IT'S WRONG! How come it's so hard to forgive,Joe? Is there a bible verse for that?"

"There is, let me find it real quick.....Ah! Here it is." He pointed to Colossians 3:13.
"Let me read it!" Kristi cried.

"No problem" replied Joe.

"Make allowance for each others faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the LORD forgave you, so you MUST forgive others."

"Oh!" Kristi added, "I get it now! The reason we MUST forgive others is because God sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins!"

"Exactly! And that was his sacrifice to us, so we show our love for Him by forgiving others."

"Okay, I got it now. I finally feel better." she said, "but should I go back downstairs?"

She and Joe decided to go downstairs and speak to their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Robins were the LEAST mad at Kristi and Joe. They were mad at themselves. What I mean by that is this, Mr. and Mrs. Robins KNEW it was wrong but they disobeyed God. Kristi and Joe had grown up in a Christian family ALL their lives! But, her parents had sinned very badly. They asked God to forgive them while Joe and Kristi were talking and they truly hoped God forgave both Mr. AND Mrs. Robins.

A little while later, when they were in the family room, things were much better. The Robins' family FINALLY understood that divorce was wrong. They were a happy family again!!! Mr. and Mrs. Robins stayed married and Kristi, Joe, Kate, and Matthew Robins lived happily ever after. Actually, I take that back. Sure they had tough times, but they learned a family lesson...stick with your family and obey God.

Iceskating Girl

This is a story about a girl named Mia Banks. Mia is in the 7th grade. She LOVES ice skating! She has a brother named Carter, and a sister named Leah. Carter is in 2nd grade and Leah is 1. Her mom's name is Becky and her dad's name is Tom.
ANYWAY! One time something REALLY bad happened. Ok, get this. Mia has these white ice skates for performances. Well if she loses them, she will get grounded from ice skating for the season. Well, some really mean girls, named Amber and Carmen broke into her locker and stole her performance skates. When she came to change her books, Mia saw that her ice skates were gone! "Oh No," she thought, "My mom is going to KILL me!!!! What should I do?"
Anyway, she put it off until school got out.
"Hey Mom!" she yelled as she walked in the door. And with that, she went up to her room and plopped her backpack on her bed.

About 5 minutes later, Mia was on the computer and her friend, Ashley(from ice-skating) was on IM. They had a little conversation. Here is some of it:

"Hey,Girl!" Ashley said.

"Hey"

"Wat's rong u normally put an exclamation mark"

"Some1 broke in2 my locker @ skool and stole my performance skates! but idk who" Mia answered.
(remember that they are IM-ing so some of the words may not be spelled right.)

"O WOW! my mom would kill me if i lost my skates!" Ashley replied.

"Do u kno who it mite b?"

"No, but i have a really good guess :)"

"Yea well txt me l8r i g2g lylas! see ya 2morro!!!"

"ok lylas2!!!!!!!!! bi bi"

~~~~~
"MIA! IT'S TIME TO DO HOMEWORK!" Mrs.Banks yelled after dinner.

"I KNOW, I KNOW!" Mia replied from her room.

Mia suddenly slammed her door as though she was very angry. And she was angry because she absolutely HATES homework. Most kids do though, right? I mean, it's like a cycle that they have. Anyway! Let's get on with the story. "Ugh!" Mia thought, "I hate homework! And why do they give us so much?!" Finally, after about 2 hours she was done with ALL her homework. But it was already 7:00 p.m! When she went downstairs her family was watching the movie "Alice in Wonderland" (her parents love Disney classic movies)

"Can I watch the movie with you?" Mia asked.

"No, dear" her father replied.

"WHY?" Mia questioned him.

"Because," Mrs.Banks replied, "you have to take a shower."

"Mom?" Mia asked, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure honey, anything" her mother replied.

"Come to my room." Mia said.

About 5 seconds later, they were in her room. This is the conversation:

"Mom, I'm telling you straight out."

"Yes, honey?" she asked.

Very, very quickly she said, "I LOST MY ICE-SKATES."

Suddenly, her mother's face turned very solemn. She did not seem angry though. Then, she spoke very gentle words to Mia.

"Mia, honey..." she started off.

"Mother! I'm SOOOO sorry i mean i didn't do and i don't know who did and-" Mrs. Banks interrupted her.

"I understand, sweety" she replied.

"Do you even the slightest idea who did it?" Her mom asked.

"No, because i had them in my locker before math class and after math they were gone!" She replied.

"BUT," she added, "Ashley has an idea."

"Okay, tell me who Ashley thought and tell me after school tomorrow." her mom replied.

"Thanks Mom!" And with that, she hugged her mom.

"Now, you better go take a shower," mom exclaimed, "it's almost 7:30!"




"Mom!" yelled Mia the next morning, "where is my other pair of ice-skates?"

"I think that they are in your room, at least that's where I last saw them."

"Well they aren't!"

"Too bad!" mom replied from the kitchen, "just borrow a pair, and come eat!"

Later, during school, Mia asked Ashley who she thought it was. Ashley said it was probably Amber and Carmen. She was absolutely right! Although Mia and Ashley didn't know it, Amber and Carmen WERE the victims.
After about a week, Mia's mom found out. She called Amber AND Carmen's mom. They got in HUGE trouble!!!! Mia ended up getting her ice skates back. She got to do the next performance.(without having to borrow ice-skates! ;)

Blaming the Wrong Person

"I cant believe it just had to happen to me!" cried Anzlee one afternoon.
"Well i know you didn't do it." replied mom.
Obviously, you are wondering what has happened. If you are wanting to discover that then you have come to the right person!

You know that the girl's name is Anzlee. Let me tell you a little bit about her. Anzlee is in the 6th grade. She is the shortest one in her class, she is 4' 3". She is a GREAT Christian! She loves God with all her might, and people saw that in her,too. UNTIL......."it" got out. And here's how it all happened.

One day one of Anzlee's so called "main enemy" took one of her best friend's $50 diamond earrings! Lucy Brock is Anzlee's best friend, and Daphne Dillian was her "arch enemy." I know it might seem to drag on forever, but let me tell you a little bit about Lucy and Daphne.
Lucy is a cute little girl. She is only a little bit taller than Anzlee. Her birthday was recently and her Nana got her diamond earrings.
Anyway, Lucy had to go to her locker and take out her earrings for gym class and didn't shut her locker good. Then, Daphne and her friend Kayla opened her locker, and there they were! So, they just stole them. After that, they blamed Anzlee!!!

Lucy ran home crying because she thought that Anzlee did it and because she lost her diamond earrings. Anzlee also felt bad because she knew that she did not steal the earrings. So, she went down to find her mom after school, and talked to her.

"I know I didn't do it!" repeated Anzlee over and over.

"I know, I know," mom replied.

"Why would Daphne just blame it on me?" Anzlee yelled.

"Have ever thought that she is your main enemy?!" Mrs. Robin cried.

Anyway! The conversation went on forever it seemed like. But you know how it is between parents and kids. Right in the middle of their conversation, Drake Robin, Anzlee's brother, walked in.
"What is wrong with you girls," he asked," fighting with all your friends. Well I got 3 words for ya! IT IS MADNESS!!!!!!"
And with that, he went to his room and slammed the door.

It Finally came time for dinner and they were having meatloaf. Anzlee's mom asked her if she would help set the table.
"EWWWW, Meatloaf" she replied.

"ok fine I'll help" she added.

"Good," mom replied.

~During Dinner~


"Anzlee," said her dad after they prayed, " We need to talk."
"Yes, we do." replied her mother.

"Mom! Not at the table please" she asked.

"Yes! Yes! I wanna hear!!!" yelled Drake.

"NO!" Anzlee screamed back.

"Guys, please calm down your hurting my ears." Mrs. Robin said.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Anzlee screamed at the top of her lungs and ran to her room crying.


The reason she is mad is because Anzlee knows what her parents are going to talk to her about. "I just can't believe that she told him." she thought. About 15 minutes later, her mom and dad walked in.

With tears streaming down Anzlee's cheeks, she said:
"Have you ever heard of knocking? and what do ya want?"

"First of all, that is not at all how you talk to your parents," replied her mom, "and secondly, we need to talk."

"I KNOW THAT!" cried Anzlee.

"Well then, let's get started." dad replied.

The way I, the writer, see it is that Anzlee and her parents talked forever,but you know how I get. This all happened during the end of the school week. Now, it is the weekend.
School was about to begin again(it was Sunday afternoon) and Anzlee's mom called Daphne's mom. Daphne got in ETERNAL trouble and never picked on Anzlee's for as long as she could remember!!!!!

A Happily Ever After

"Well I never..."

But what, precisely, she "never" did was left unstated.
In her frustration at what had occurred, she merely harrumphed and walked away.

John stood quietly and, with sadness, observed Mary as she left. For two years they had been dating. For two years they had been the best of friends. But as her small, girlish figure faded into the fog that surrounded them, he wondered what would happen. This short little story tells the tale of what did.

It all started on a foggy Monday night, precisely at 9:35 pm, on August 19. As I said, they had been dating for two years. He decided that things hadn't been working out for him, and even her. John saw that Mary had been missing special events, some of which are listed below:
dates, proms, dinner, and other special things.

John had decided it was time to leave her. He knew it would be hard to do. They loved each other so much. Mary loved John alot. She wanted to marry him.
John told her to meet him at the fountain by the park. Mary was so excited!!! She thought he was going to propose. It was nothing like that, she found out.

When John got there (on time) Mary wasn't there.Mary FINALLY got there 15 whole minutes later.
"AHHHHH!!! sorry I'm late," she exclaimed.

"Where have you been!?!?" said John in shock.

"Sorry?"

"Ugh, fine fine just sit down!" John replied.

"Yeaaaaa!!!!" thought Mary.

John was so nervous!

"Look," he stated nervously "I know we have been together like forever, but things aren't turning out so well."

Suddenly, Mary's face went from jovial to pinkish-red and very gloomy, and sad.

"What do you mean?" questioned Mary.

"Well, it's over," he said "I'm sorry."

Mary started crying. She couldn't take it. Mary ran down to her car. She couldn't believe she had accually thought that he loved her. Tears streaming down her cheeks, John caught up with her.

"Look," he exclaimed with sadness "I'm so sorry, but I've got to move on with my life."

"I get that!" Mary said as she started to get in her car.

"Well, then what's the problem," he inquired.

"It's just that i can't believe I thought you actually loved me." she admitted.

Then, Mary got in her car and left.
~
The next day, John was on the computer. He still had Mary's e-mail address.
Mary, on the other hand, was still mad at John for breaking up with him. She was praying as hard as she could for John to get back together with her. Here is what she said:

" Dear Lord,
Please O please let John get back together with
me! You know I am a Christian and I love you soo much
Lord, but I just ask one thing of you....let John date-"


Just then, Mary got an e-mail. It was from John!

Here is what it said:

"I am so sorry for breaking up with you. I guess I
didn't know what I was thinking. I want to go out with
you again, ON ONE CONDITION, will you make all the
dates and proms and stuff? e-mail me back.
-John <3

It was an immediate answer to prayer! She should
have trusted God in the first place! Mary didn't know
what to say!!!! She didn't know if should say yes or not.
Mary decided to call her best friend, Anzlee, for advice.

Mary finally said "yes." It turned out to be a happy, Christian life for them.
John and Mary actually got married!! All of their good friends came to the wedding.
After about three years, they had 2 children. One was named Michelle, she was 1, and the other child was named Thomas, he was 3.

From my perspective, It looks like the Carson Family were good Christians and lived happily ever after.

The Typical Easter Story

"And THAT'S how it works," Dad explained.

"I understand more now!" I replied.

My name is Reagan and I will tell you how I learned the REAL Easter story.
One day, my dad was talking to me about Easter. I AM a Christian, don't get me wrong. But, I always thought that the typical easter story was always like- "Oh, yeah Jesus died for all us and raised from the dead again." Then, on that Friday, My dad told me what really happened. It was from good source, too. He didn't use wikipedia or anything like that, he read from The Bible.

"Dad, how does the Easter story go?" I was questioning him pretty much the WHOLE day.

"Well, Jesus died for us and-" I interrupted him.

"I know THAT!" I exclaimed, "but i want details,not MAJOR details though."

Okay okay, if you insist."

I will narrate the story. Jesus was very famous. But only SOME people thought he was the Son of God. Then one day,Judas the Iscariot sold Jesus to the high priest, Pilate, for some money. Then, they took Jesus to the high priest, and there Pilate asked Jesus a few questions. Then, he sent Jesus to Herod. Herod sent Him back to Pilate to choose which one they should set free. Pilate gave the people a choice. They could set Barabbas, a murderer, free or they could set Jesus free. Guess what they chose. If you guessed Barabbas, you are CORRECT!!!! They captured Jesus and took him through the town. Near the end of town, Jesus' friend,Simon, had to carry a cross for Jesus. After the came to the hill of Calvary, they beat him and then nailed him on the cross. They made a crown of thorns and pushed it into his head. Then they nailed a sign on the cross above Jesus' head that said "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." That day was a VERY tragic day for the followers and disciples of Jesus.

What the disciples forgot is that, Jesus said "I will rise again on the third day." Three days after the crucifixion , three women woke early in the morning to go to the tomb. Among them were, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Joanna. When they came to the tomb, the stone was rolled away! An angel of the Lord appeared to them and said "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, He is risen!" They told the women to go and tell the disciples. The first disciples to the tomb were Peter and John. John stopped and peered into the tomb, but Peter ran into the tomb where the linen lay. It folded up which meant it was a sign... a sign that meant "I am coming back."

"You know dad?" I said.

"Yes, honey?"

I love reading about the Bible God's word." Now I know the REAL meaning of Easter.

The Bracelet

That dangling bracelet, the twinkle in her eye. It was more the bracelet that made her stand out, in a good way of course. But,she had her own little secret. That bracelet was not hers. Aubrey stood in the hallway watching all the kids run to their classes as the bell rang. In fact, she was one of the ones running! Aubrey was NEVER late for class. She was also a straight "A" student. Lots of people said Mrs.Galiger liked her best. Aubrey didn't know it but things were about to change.
At recess she had to hide her bracelet in her purse. Aubrey did this because her friend,Lucy, lost that bracelet in the mall and Aubrey really wanted it. So she kept it and never told Lucy.
Aubrey knew it was wrong, but it was such a beautiful bracelet! One day, her mom noticed the bracelet, but didn't think much of it.

"Whew!" Aubrey thought.

A couple minutes later the phone rang.

"Aubrey! It's for you..." Mom said.

Aubrey had a phone in her room. It was pink!

"OKAY!" she yelled from upstairs.

It had been a couple of hours before Aubrey was off the phone.

"Who was that?" Mom questioned.

"Oh, Just Lucy..." She replied.

What she didn't tell Mom was that Lucy and Aubrey got into a big fight. Lucy found out she had stolen the bracelet! Apparently, Riley told her. Riley was her "main enemy." At least that was what Riley said. Riley was a gymnast. She was skinny with blonde hair and brown eyes. Even though she was pretty, she was not a Christian. Riley said she was, but by her actions, it did not show it at all. As, for Aubrey, everyone thought she was a Christian until the "big secret" got out.

One day, Aubrey came home from school feeling dreary. She HAD to tell her mom sooner or later. So, she started talking just randomly.
"Mom?" she questioned.

"Yes honey?"

"Has anyone ever told a BIG secret that you didn't want told,like in elementary school?" Aubrey said.

"Yes, actually so, why do you want to know?" Her mom sounded suspicious.

"I don't know, its that something happened at school and I-" her mother interrupted her.

"WHAT happened," she was determined to know.

Aubrey felt her cheeks getting red and blotchy like they always do when she is nervous. Then out of the middle of a long silence, Aubrey burst out crying.


FINALLY, After a LONG talk with her mom, Aubrey got things straightened out with her mom. It felt good to have someone to talk to when you are feeling upset. Aubrey's mom talked to Lucy's mom. Even though Lucy was upset, she forgave Aubrey. Anyway, Lucy had got another one that was the same thing, so they called the bracelets their "Bracelets of Friendship." From then on it turned out, they were "BFFs" for life!!!!!!!!