What Everyone Needs to Know Before They Grow Up!. Eddie Boone's Phillips
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW BEFORE THEY GROW UP
GOD’S COMMONSENSE APPROACH TO LIVING A SUCCESSFUL LIFE
By Eddie Phillips
Illustrated by Preston Phillips
Cover Art and Graphics by Diddy Vucovich
© Copyright 2012 by Eddie Phillips
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication shall be reproduced by any means nor stored in a retrieval system of any kind without the prior, written consent of Eddie Phillips
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0862-0
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
PREFACE
Most of us were first introduced to God’s word as children. Perhaps our parents read us Bible stories at bedtime, or some Sunday school teacher captured our imagination with the exploits of familiar biblical characters. At the time we probably grasped the surface details of what we heard, but more often than not we didn’t fully appreciate or retain the deeper spiritual message that the inspired writer was trying to convey.
How unfortunate that is, because there are so many important lessons in life that can be gleaned from scripture. Yet sometimes it takes a Ph.D. from the school of hard knocks before the wisdom of the Bible begins to sink into our thick skulls. Wouldn’t it be nice if we realized at an early age that the keys to a happier life can be found within the pages of the holy text?
Now this may sound trite, but the Bible really is as relevant today as when it was written. God’s truth hasn’t changed at all over time, and neither has human nature. We still have the same passions, motivations and character traits that the men and women of old possessed. As such, it is worth our effort to take a look at how the heroes and villains of the Bible handled certain situations, see the consequences both good and bad, and then apply their experiences to similar circumstances in our own lives. That way we can avoid making our own mistakes by learning from the successes and failures of others.
It is my hope and prayer that this book will help young people do just that. The stories included are presented in a way that is entertaining and easy to understand in an effort to maintain the reader’s interest. Then each spiritual truth is explained in a straightforward, commonsense manner so that most any preteen will have no trouble making an application to his or her own life.
One more thing should be noted. This book is not a doctrinal study. Instead, biblical passages and examples are used to illustrate broader Christian principles and values that most everyone will agree are beneficial for today’s youth. Ideally, the life lessons identified in each chapter will be the catalyst for additional, more in-depth discussion between parent and child. Hopefully, the end result will be boys and girls with a firmer foundation from which to make the difficult choices and decisions that will inevitably confront them in the years to come.
LIFE LESSON 1
IT PAYS TO FOLLOW THE RULES
In the beginning of time, God created the heavens and the earth. Obviously, that included a whole lot of stuff. I mean, we’re talking about the sun, the moon, and all the stars up above, along with the oceans, mountains, plains, and every other physical feature of our planet. Think of it as over a gazillion square miles of real estate suspended in space.
Now you would think that the Creator of the universe would be exhausted after doing all that. But no-o-o-o! He was only getting started. Before long, the Lord had also made every kind of plant and animal that inhabited the world at that time. If you could see it, hear it, smell it, touch it, eat it, or it eat you, then the Almighty God spoke it into existence during the first six days of the creation week.
But hang on, there’s more. When our Heavenly Father was finished, He set everything in motion so that all He had made would be subject to His laws of nature. Quicker than the blink of an eye, the entire cosmos was running like a finely tuned engine. It was absolutely amazing, and the Lord did it all. He designed it, He built it, and He wrote the operating instructions.
At the end of the sixth day of creation, God looked around and saw that everything He had done was good. The Lord was just about to kick back and take the next day off when He remembered He wanted someone to keep an eye on His creation and make sure that it would remain in good working order. So, the very last thing God made was man, a special creature formed in His own image for just that purpose. After that He was satisfied and took a break on the seventh day.
As you probably know, the first man’s name was Adam. But did you know that he was made out of a pile of dirt? Well, it’s true. Of course, that probably comes as no surprise to most women. After all, guys and dirt kind of go hand in hand. Nevertheless, our Heavenly Father shaped Adam from the dust of the earth and then breathed life into his body. Shortly thereafter, God made the man a home in a place called the Garden of Eden.
Adam’s job was to watch over the animals and take care of the crops and fruit trees that the Lord had planted in the garden. In addition, he was responsible for naming all the beasts of the field that roamed the earth in those days. Sometimes that could be very dangerous…
OK…where was I? Oh yeah, the Garden of Eden. The weather there was always perfect — no need for clothes or shelter to keep warm. Also, there were all kinds of fruits, nuts and veggies to eat. Adam didn’t need to truck it down to McDonald’s or Burger King when he got hungry. No way! All he had to do was pick something off a tree or vine. And the garden had four rivers that were perfect for fishing and swimming. What a life! You might say Adam had it made in the shade.
But even though he had free rein of the Garden of Eden, there was one very important rule that Adam had to obey. In the center of the garden there was a tree that was strictly off limits. It was called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. God told Adam that he was not to touch or eat the fruit from that tree. If he did, the Lord warned him that he would surely die. Well, I don’t know about you, but that would be enough for me to scratch that item off my grocery list, along with sardines, turnip greens and other foods not fit for human consumption.
Anyway, with the easy life he had, you would think Adam would be happy. But that was not the case. Sure, eating all day, playing with the animals and skinny dipping in the river was fun, but something was still not right. Because there were no other people to talk to, the poor guy was lonely. I can understand that — have you ever tried to carry on a meaningful conversation with a duckbill platypus? Trust me, it ain’t gonna happen.
Luckily for Adam, it didn’t take God long to see there was a problem. He realized how boring it must have been with nobody else around. So the Lord felt sorry for Adam and decided to give him a companion and a helper, someone to keep him company and to share his life. And that, my friend, was how woman came to be.
Actually, it’s kind of neat how the Lord made the first female of the species. Man was made from the dust of the earth, but she was created in a completely different way. God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, and while he was zonked out the Almighty took a rib from his side. You could say it was the very first order of “spare rib” ever served (sorry about that!). Anyway, God used that part of the man’s body to make a woman, and Adam called her Eve.
As you can imagine, Adam was thrilled with the sudden turn of events. He now had a friend, a wife and a soul mate. He was happy. They were happy. Life was good in the neighborhood. However, things were about to change in a big way, and neither