by JonAre
“I won’t forget,” Phillip said without stopping.
A few minutes later Mrs. Carson told the children it was time to pay for their pumpkins and leave. Otherwise, they would be late for PE class.
“Wait! I can’t find my white pumpkin!” Phillip exclaimed.
“Phillip, just pick one and come on. I told you to bring it to me so this wouldn’t happen. We do not have time for this.” Mrs. Carson was losing her patience.
Phillip knew his mom was not going to wait for him to find his special pumpkin, so he quickly picked one out and ran to where she was waiting with his sisters.
“Someone must have taken my pumpkin,” Phillip complained as they were driving away from the pumpkin patch.
“It wasn’t yours,” his mom said. “You left it in the field.”
Phillip wanted to say more, but he didn’t because he knew his mom was right.
Phillip soon forgot about his lost pumpkin, though. He was having too much fun playing dodge ball with Caleb and his other friends to worry about a pumpkin.
On the way home, Phillip told his mom, “Caleb said he’s going to bring Henry some carrots to go with his other food. So don’t let the girls eat them, okay?”
“Eewww, we aren’t going to eat hamster food,” the twins said making gagging sounds.
“Carrots aren’t just hamster food. You eat carrots all the time, but you can’t eat Henry’s carrots,” Phillip said.
The girls started to argue with their brother, but before they could say very much, Mrs. Carson said, “Don’t worry, Phillip. We will give Henry’s carrots their own little space in the refrigerator. And,” she said turning to the girls, “we have our own carrots, so I promise I won’t feed you any of Henry’s.”
As soon as the car stopped, the kids jumped out and took their pumpkins to the house. They put some of them outside on the porch with the corn stalks and took the others inside so they would be ready to paint the next day during school. Then Mrs. Carson sent her children off to do their chores while she got ready to fix dinner.
While Phillip was doing his chores, he remembered that this was day two—tomorrow he could play with his planes again. He could hardly wait. He was wanted to see if he could get two of them to fly side by side. Phillip got so excited thinking about it that he almost forgot to let the cows out of the barn so they could eat their hay. But Phillip didn’t forget. He turned went back into the barn and let them out.
“I can be responsible,” Phillip said to himself. “I really can.”
Saturday morning Phillip woke up ready to try flying two planes side by side again. He hadn’t had much luck a couple of days ago and the rain yesterday kept them inside most of the day. But Mr. Carson stopped Phillip when he saw his son gathering up his planes.
“Phillip, do you remember what we are going to do this morning?”
“I’m taking my planes outside,” Phillip said.
“No, you are going to clean the barn with me. Remember? So put your planes away until after we are done.”
“Oh, okay. Will it take long,” he asked?
“I don’t know. I guess that depends on how hard we work. So let’s get started. And when we’re done I’ll help you figure out how to get those planes to fly together without crashing” Dad patted Phillip on the back as they headed out the door to the barn.
Phillip and his dad worked hard, but they had a good time working together. Phillip loved his dad very much and always liked it when they did things together…even cleaning out the barn.
It was almost lunch time when Phillip and his dad were done, so after they changed their clothes and washed the dust and hay off their faces, they sat down to eat the homemade pizza Mrs. Carson and the twins had made. When they were finished eating Mr. Carson said, “Phillip, are you ready to go fly those planes?”
Phillip and his dad spent most of the afternoon flying the remote-controlled airplanes. They raced them and practiced flying them side by side. Eleanor and Allison even took turns helping their dad fly one of the planes. Everyone had lots of fun.
Later that evening Phillip asked his dad, “Do you think I can do something with my planes for the science fair? This is the first year I am old enough to pick my own project. I want to do something, but I’m not sure what.”
“Sure, son, we’ll think of something.”
“Phillip, you need to pick up the history poster you are working on,” Mrs. Carson said. “I know you and Caleb are going to want to play tomorrow when he and his parents bring Henry over, so go put it away until it is time to work on it next week.”
“Okay, Mom,” Phillip said. “And then I’m going to start planning my science fair project.”
After Phillip picked up everything he was using to make his poster for history class, he started looking on the internet for science fair ideas using airplanes. Some of ideas sounded cool, but they also sounded really hard to do. Phillip decided he’d better not try something too hard. When he finally found one he knew he could do, he started planning his project. “Wow,” he said to himself, “I can’t wait to show this to Caleb tomorrow.”
Six
“Sunday is the best day of the week,” Eleanor said as she walked into the kitchen yawning; her hair sticking out in every direction and still looking bleary-eyed.
“I know,” Allison agreed. “Sunday morning is cinnamon roll day. Yum, I can’t wait!” Allison didn’t look quite as sleepy as her sister did, but her hair was just as wild-looking as Eleanor’s.
“Thanks, girls,” their mother said. “I’m glad you appreciate the home-made cinnamon rolls, but that isn’t the best thing about Sunday, is it?” The girls’ mother understood that to a hungry seven year-old (or two), the smell of breakfast was special. But she also wanted the twins, and Phillip, too, to remember that nothing was more important on Sunday (or any other day) than spending time worshipping and learning about God and his son, Jesus.
“You know what I meant, Mom,” Eleanor said. “I know Jesus is most important, but I’m really hungry and the rolls smell soooooooooo, good.” Eleanor was now sitting at the table and reaching for the pan.
Mrs. Carson kissed her daughter on the top of her head and replied, “Yes, sweetie, I know you do. We just need to remember why this day is really so special. It’s also going to be a busy morning for me—trying to get all the tangles out of your hair—and yours, too, Allison. I really am going to have to start putting it in a braid or ponytail at night so it’s not so tangled when you get up. Either that or cut it…,” she smiled knowing what the girls’ reaction would be.
“NO!” both girls said almost in unison.
“I’m just kidding. I love your long, red hair. But I don’t like having to untangle it every morning.” Mrs. Carson finished the last bite of her roll and started to head for the bedroom to get ready for church.
“Phillip,” she called as she left the kitchen, “come eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
Mr. Carson came in the back door from doing his chores just as Phillip walked into the kitchen to eat.
“Wow, you’re up and at ‘em early, son. You’re already dressed and ready to go before breakfast. What’s up with that?” Mr. Carson smiled and said, knowing Phillip was excited about getting Henry later that day.
Phillip was too busy eating to notice his dad was teasing him, but the girls, who had just finished their breakfast, were quick to answer, “Dad, Caleb and his parents are bringing Henry over today,” Allison said.
“You knew that, didn’t you,” Eleanor added. “You’re just being silly.”
“Hey, everyone, there’s no more time to be silly if you want to be on time for Sunday School,” Mrs. Carson said as she walked into the room. “Come on girls, you’ve got to get ready now or we will be late.”
The Carson family arrived at the church just as everyone was going to class. Caleb breathed a sigh of relief when Phillip walked into the room. He told his fr
iend he was worried that he was sick and wouldn’t be able to take Henry. Phillip told him not to worry and that he already had a place ready for the cage.
After opening the class with prayer, the teacher asked everyone in the class to find Acts, chapter nine in their Bibles. After Phillip and the others were ready, they listened and followed along while the teacher read about how God changed Saul’s life.
The teacher read, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
“Wow,” Phillip’s friend, Sabrina, said. “That is really scary.
“It’s not scary,” argued a boy named Titus, “I think it’s cool the way God stopped Saul from killing Christians.”
“It is cool,” Sabrina agreed, “I’m just saying that if I heard God’s voice and went blind, I’d be really scared.”
“You’re both right,” the teacher said. “I would be scared, too. You can be sure Saul was scared. That’s one reason he fell down on the ground. But Titus, I agree. God really went all-out to get Saul’s attention.”
“Didn’t God change his name to Paul? Isn’t he the same guy that wrote a lot of the Bible?” Caleb thought he was right, but wanted to make sure.
“That’s right, Caleb,” the teacher said. “God did more than make Saul blind that day. He also talked to a Christian man named Ananias who lived in Damascus. He told Ananias to go to where Saul was staying in Damascus. God told Ananias to pray with Saul and to put his hands on Saul’s face—so that when he did, God would give Saul his sight back. At first Ananias was scared. He knew Saul had been killing Christians and he was afraid it might be a trick. But God promised Ananias it was not a trick—that God had changed Saul’s life and that he was not going to hurt him. So because Ananias trusted God, he went to where Saul was staying, prayed with him, touched his face and Saul was able to see again. As soon as he could see, he asked Ananias to baptize him. So Ananias did. After that Paul ate some food and drank some water so he could get his strength back.”
“Cool,” some of the kids said.
“But that isn’t all,” the teacher went on, “Caleb is right—Saul stopped killing Christians and started preaching and teaching everywhere he went—helping as many people as he could to become Christians.
“Wasn’t it hard for people to believe him because of everything he had done? Weren’t people scared of him?” Katy, the most cautious girl in the group, wanted to know.
“Katy, that’s a very good question,” the teacher said. “And the answer is yes—people were afraid at first. They did not understand how someone like Saul—a man who believed that killing Christians was the right thing to do—could change so much…and so quickly. Saul did not try to hide his past, though. Many times the people he talked to about Jesus said they were too bad or sinful; that Jesus could never love or forgive them. When they did, Saul (whose name was Paul, by that time) told them they were wrong—that if Jesus could forgive him for all the things he had done, he could (and would) forgive them.”
“That’s really awesome,” Phillip said. “Saul, or Paul did what my dad calls owning up to your mistakes.”
“That’s right, Phillip,” the teacher said. “Owning up or taking responsibility for what we do, is important. We have to admit we need God’s forgiveness before we can ask for it. And that is what today’s memory verse is all about.”
The teacher then had her students to find Romans 3:23 and read it with her…
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, they all read together several times.
“Okay, now whoever can say this without looking at their Bible next week gets to choose a snack from the snack box. Now…who can say last week’s verse for me before we pray and go upstairs to church?”
Most of the children in the class—including Phillip—said their memory verse and got to choose a snack to have later. Then after one of the children said the closing prayer, they all went upstairs for church.
As Phillip and Caleb were walking, they talked about Caleb bringing Henry over later and how he wanted to show Caleb what he had planned for the science fair. Both boys were still whispering to one another when everyone started to sing. They knew this was their signal to be quit talking…or else not be allowed to sit together.
Seven
It was raining hard by the time lunch was over. Eleanor was reading, Allison was making bracelets on her rubber band loom and Phillip was studying a website that had some experiments using remote-control planes. Mr. and Mrs. Carson were in the kitchen talking over their schedules for the next few days.
“The kids have dental appointments on Tuesday and we have a meeting with the school coop about the science fair later that afternoon,” Mrs. Carson said, “so I don’t think I’ll be getting much of anything else done that day.”
“I am going to call my folks tomorrow and see if they are still planning on coming for Thanksgiving,” Mr. Carson said, “if they are, do you want to go to Bella Vista with me on Saturday so we can get a new mattress for the bed in the guest room? Since dad had that back surgery I want to be sure he has a good bed to sleep on when they come for the Thanksgiving holiday. Besides, that mattress is the one we bought when we got married.”
“That sounds like fun. Do you want me to see if Jeanette can keep the kids—kind of like a date,” Mrs. Carson laughed and smiled, “or do you want to take the kids? If we take the kids, they can go to the craft store so they can pick out some art projects for school.”
“It doesn’t matter to me—I’ll leave that up to you,” Mr. Carson said. “It’s been a while since we’ve been on a date, but we’ve not done anything like that with the kids in a while.”
“I’ll see Jeanette Tuesday. I’ll talk to her about it. If she can watch the kids, I think we’ll leave them with her. Phillip and the girls get along really well with Ethan, Adam and Lilli. Besides, they would probably get bored looking at mattresses. I’ll just have them pick out a few art projects online and I’ll see what I can find at the craft store,” Mrs. Carson said.
“Well, then, it sounds like we have a date,” Mr. Carson smiled. “I…”
Mr. Carson was interrupted by the doorbell.
“They’re here!” Phillip ran to the door excitedly to let Caleb and his dad inside.
“Hi, Caleb, come on back to my room. I’ll show you where I’m going to keep Henry while he’s here.” Phillip said as he led the way to his room.
“Come have a cup of coffee, James,” Mr. Carson said. “You know how those two boys are when they get together.”
“Sounds good,” Caleb’s dad, James Peters said. “That sure is a cold rain. They say it’s supposed to be like this for the next two or three days. Looks like we picked a good time to spend a few days in sunny California.”
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Mrs. Carson said as she walked into the kitchen to put the bag of carrots Caleb had brought for Henry in the refrigerator. “I could use some warm weather and sunshine about now.”
“It will be nice, that’s for sure,” Mr. Peters continued. “My brother and his family just moved to Camp Pendleton in southern California. They’ve been in Japan for the last two years, so we are all going there for an
early Thanksgiving. They live on base and there’s a nice beach less than a mile from there house that is part of the military base, so that will be nice. They lived there several years ago, so they know the weather is great this time of year.”
“Well, have fun and be safe and tell Carissa to get enough sunshine for the both of us,” Mrs. Carson said.
“Thanks, and I will. I just hope you really don’t mind keeping Henry for Caleb. That silly hamster can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes, but Caleb loves the little guy and we never have to remind him to take care of him, so…”
“It’s fine, James, Mr. Carson said. We weren’t sure at first—Phillip isn’t always very responsible. But we decided being responsible for his best friend’s pet would be a good experience and lesson in how important it is to be responsible.”
“I’m sure he’ll do just fine,” Mr. Peters said before calling Caleb into the room.
After saying their goodbyes, Caleb and his dad left, and the entire family gathered in Phillip’s room to welcome Henry to his temporary home.
“He’s so cute,” Allison said. “Look at how his little nose twitches.”
“He is cute,” Mrs. Carson said. “He doesn’t even look scared.” She put her hand into the cage and petted Henry with her finger.
“See, Mom, I told you it would be fine.” Phillip smiled proudly and then remembered the hamster ball Caleb brought for Henry to play in. “Oh, look, watch this!” Phillip pulled the ball out of the bag, opened the little door, scooped Henry up in his hand, sat him inside, shut the door and put the ball on the floor.
For the next twenty minutes everyone laughed and giggled as Henry ‘ran’ through the house in his little ball. Boy, could he move!
“Caleb said to let him play in the ball every other day for about ten or fifteen minutes. So since he’s playing today, he won’t need to play in it until Tuesday,” Phillip said.
“Can I hold him,” Allison asked? I won’t drop him, I promise.
“Okay, but sit on my bed to hold him,” Phillip said in a grown-up voice.
Phillip’s parents both noticed how responsible Phillip sounded and acted. They were very proud of him. They were also proud of the way he let his little sisters hold Henry while sitting on his bed and how careful he was with Henry. Maybe this really was just what Phillip needed to teach him how important it is to be responsible.