Chocolate Chip Morsels: I can think about a homemade apple pie baking in the oven with its fresh sliced apples, cinnamon and nutmeg, with melted butter and filling drizzling over the sides, and can almost smell it, even taste it. Can you? Or how about crispy chicken fried up in a pan? Or, a big pot of hot chocolate simmering on the stove, waiting for the marshmallows to go in? Yum! I have fond memories from each of these, but none as good as the smell of my Mom’s chocolate chip cookies. When walking home from school, I can smell them baking in the oven, ready to come out, as I walk up the driveway.
My brother, Reagan loves Mama’s cookies so much, that when Mama asked him what he wanted for his birthday last year, Reagan told her he just wanted some of her chocolate chip cookies, and that’s just what he got too. Reagan ate cookies that day and drank milk with them till I thought his stomach would explode. One of our favorite things Mama does before mixing the dough for the cookies is, she passes out three chocolate chip morsels to each of us four kids before she pours the rest into the mixing bowl. Yep! We get three morsels each. One day after school, I came in and Mama told me to put my backpack in my room; but I heard her from the kitchen and knew she must be making us something good, and I was hungry, so I just slung my backpack anywhere. It landed on the other side of the couch where my little brother John was laying, but I didn’t know it till John jumped up, and went crying to Mama and told her I threw my backpack and hit him on his face on purpose. Mama was passing out chocolate chip morsels about that time, and skipped right over me. I told Mama it was an accident, and told John I was very sorry it hit him; but Mama sent me to my room for disobeying her. “Kayla” she said, you’ll have to miss out on the morsels this time.” I ran to my room, threw myself on my bed and cried. In a few minutes, Little John came in my room and although he barely stood tall enough, he got on his tippy toes and put something on top of my desk, and said, “I love you Sissy” as he ran out.
Read this story to find out what single act of love so changed Kayla’s life and even softened her heart.
*Each of us has a purpose. Finding out what it is can be tough. In “Rooster And The Cricket,” you’ll find out what happens when a bird and a bug trade jobs, and get their whole side of the world in an uproar. What can they do to fix it?
*How can a tree be compared to a human life? Find out when a judge points his finger and tells the dried up tree he will never amount to anything. Despite the criticism, watch as the dried up tree comes to life, blooms and is transplanted into the Judge’s own court yard.
*When an ant and a sloth discuss their purpose, but terribly disagree, you’ll find out who was right, and was wrong all along in this fun tale. “The Ant And The Sloth” teaches us there are rewards to be found in accomplishing what we can with what we have.
* Patty Bevella has something everybody wants. She can use it for most anything. A lot of the people in town decide they are willing to rob Patty in order to get it. But, when the people find out there are more galore, and plenty for everyone, see the envy and jealousy crumble, and unity take its place in the adventures of “Patty Bevella And Her Umbrella.”
*An unspoken promise is made between a sister and a brother during childhood. The unspoken promise is: “I will love you “No Matter What!” Who will keep the promise, and who will not?
*There are times each of us needs to ask for help. Other times, we need to realize we can do it our self. You will find out like Rubert did, when it’s time to just step up and “Butter Your Own Corn” in this fun, character-building story.
*A nine year old girl wrote these words in her tablet: “Does anyone know how I feel?” When she was sad, or happy, or just wanted to talk about something, but didn’t know who to tell, she would write a letter to GOD. She wrote all her thoughts to Him in her, “Dear GOD” letters, just to get things off her chest. The girl is thirteen now, and says, “I still talk to GOD that way a lot of times, do you?” When I asked her why she writes letters to Him, she replied, “Sometimes I cry, and I don’t even know why; but GOD knows why, so I just talk to Him, and I feel better when I write it down.”
*It is important to learn to follow the right voice, or else you may find yourself listening to a giraffe. In “Gift For Mama,” what a son learns about giving a gift from his heart is something we can all learn from.
*When his Mama sends Henry out to the okra patch, will he get to pick the okra before it rains, or will he find himself getting distracted by the rabbits, grapes, and watermelons. How easy it is to lose our focus, and forget the task we were sent to perform. “Rain In The Okra Patch” leads us on one rabbit trail after another.
As you read these and many other stories found in this book, I believe you will find yourself wanting to read them again, and share them with others, no matter what age they are.