 Some of the stories in the Bible seem too unbelievable. It's these stories that cause many people, young and old, to question the truth of God's word.
The story of Jonah is one of those stories. Everything seems very plausible until he gets swallowed by a whale. That seems to be the moment where the doubts take over. It's interesting to note, though, that on two separate occasions, Jesus points to Jonah's story as evidence for His own (Matthew 12 and 16). So if the mystery of Jesus' story is the one we want our kids to know and believe, maybe we need to understand the mystery of the story that He used to point to His truth. With that in mind, we came up with the story of Junior Bear and the Banana-nites of Nanerville. This story actually happened by accident as we were working on another one and our youngest daughter kept shouting that we needed to use monkeys in it. I jokingly responded with, "What am I going to call them? The Banana-nites?" And in that moment, this story came to life. For anyone who has read the book of Jonah, his journey is an interesting one, but it is the ending that leaves us without an answer as it seems to just end. But even in the open ending, there is a concrete lesson for all us to understand, and I believe that Junior Bear helps us discover it. We hope you enjoy this story, but we hope more that it will help you find more of God's heart for you and for those around you.
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 Understanding the Bible is hard for adults, never mind for children.
All too often, we ignore certain Bible stories ourselves because they make us feel uncomfortable. As Christian parents, we have a job to do; a calling that God has placed on each of us: To bring our little ones to Him. But how do we do that if we don’t spend time in His word first? How can we expect them to grab onto the Bible if we don’t digest ourselves? 
My heart's desire is to bring God's word to life for children and families. It all started when I was asked to teach the 3 and 4 year old kids in my church, and the first story they gave me to teach was Genesis 22, Abraham offering Isaac on the altar. I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to teach such a big story to little kids.
That's when I prayed about and God gave me a picture of a bear cub in the forest, and The Unforgettable Adventures of Junior Bear was born. Of course we didn't start where we are now; it has been a long journey. But along the way, God's word has come to life for our family and for the children we teach. We wanted to share with you the story where it all began. It is a bit different than the original, but as it has grown, it has gotten deeper. We hope you enjoy it, and, more importantly, that it points you to God's word so that it can come to life for you. |
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Brad in 2 Sentences:I love to write and teach people of all ages about Jesus. If I can tell a story and tell you about Jesus at the same time, even better! Archives
November 2018
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