P.O.W.E.R.* Girl IV - Ch. 12 - Dreaming About JCT and the New House Free Reprint Article

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P.O.W.E.R.* Girl IV - Ch. 12 - Dreaming About JCT and the New House

by Tonja Taylor
6/27/2023 / Short Stories

“OK, kiddos, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’re going to have a longer art class today.”

“Yay!” said Pearl. “But isn’t it February 14?” She picked up Vivace to hold her, and looked at the calendar. Today is only the first, she thought.

“Yes,” said her mother, “but if we are going to do JCT, we’d better let you both get started on them. We’ll make as many as we can by the banquet, and ask Brother Randy about making them for Valentine’s Day, and they can even present some to the church body and ask them to pray as they make the kits, and tell them they’ll be for sale soon, and such. It will be a pre-buy promo.”

“I’m the best artist!” said Robert, grabbing a piece of paper and marker, and drawing.

“You are a very good artist, Rob,” said his mother, “but God—Elohim—is the very best! He created the world and all the people and plants and animals, and upholds it by the Word of His power, by His Son, Jesus Christ. Isn’t He amazing?”

“Yes! He is awesome!” said Pearl. She took a piece of paper and started writing a title at the top: Where We Can Sell Jesus Christmas Tree Ornaments.

“Hey Queen Mother, can I look up some places to sell online?” I bet there are lots of them! thought Pearl.

“All right, I’ll give you five minutes,” her mother replied. “First, do a search for hand-crafted Christmas ornaments, and get information about them, including three different prices. This will show us what the general range is. See, if our ornaments cost a lot more than the others on the internet, not many people will buy ours, unless God does a miracle. He certain can do that, but usually, He works in practical ways, through humans. Anyway, you first must have a product, and know the details, and have several ready to sell before you offer it for sale.”

She paused, and said, “I remember, in college, we had a project to build a website and create a product to sell. . That’s when the internet was new to most people. Anyway, my friend crocheted custom baby blankets, and she put a few pictures of them online, on her new website—and got many more orders than she could keep up with! She didn’t really expect to sell them; she was just doing the project to get a good grade. She finally shut down the business, because she was overwhelmed! I offered to help her, but I didn’t know how to crochet, and she was working another job she really liked.”

Wow, that’s a little scary, but a lot exciting! thought Pearl. That would be so neat, for people around the world to do Jesus’ Christmas Tree! But how many kits should we make to start with?

“So find some prices, then you can do a search for where to sell the kits,” said her mother. “This can be part of your math class project. Then I want you to draw examples of your ornaments for this art class.”

“Yes ma’am,” said Pearl. Yay! Another reason to get on the internet! she thought. She looked a few minutes, and wrote down her findings.

“Here ya go!” said Robert, and showed his mother and Pearl his drawing.

“Tell us about it, Rob,” said his mother.

“Well, that’s Jesus on the cross—you know!—and His blood is spilling out and making babies.”

“Babies?” Pearl said.

“Yeah!” Robert said. “You know, being born!”

“Oh, you mean being born again, through the Blood of Jesus—like you and me and your sister were!” said his mother. “Wow, Robert, that is very insightful!”

Pearl nodded. He’s getting deep on me, she thought. “Neat!”

Burt walked in, carrying big books.

“What are those, Unc?” said Robert.

“Books about houses and floor plans,” he said. “It’s time you guys start thinking about what you want your new place to look like.”

“Tired of us already, brother?” Pearl’s mother teased. “Thank you, though. We do need to start designing.”

“Well, you know, I am going to have my other family living here, in just a few months!” Burt said, and grinned.

“So we can combine rooms, and it will all work out. We’ll be learning even more about loving and sharing with each other, that’s for sure!” He laughed.

“Xi will be moving in with Ms. Sophia, once our dear friend is finished with her training,” Pearl’s mother said. “So Pearl and Robin can share a room, and then Rob and Lucas.”

“Yeah! My friend will be my room buddy!” said Robert. “We can play a lot!”

Burt put the books on the table, and Pearl said, “Break time, Queen Mother? Or can we do this for ‘housing science’ class or something?”

Pearl’s mother laughed. “Very creative of you, Princess. It is fun in homeschool to integrate subjects as much as possible, so yes, we’ll call this science, or maybe STEM, because we’re going to be looking at numbers for square footage; how big we want our house and rooms to be—”

“Mine’s gonna be bigger than Pearl’s!” said Robert.

No way! Pearl thought. Then, she thought, Never mind, Jesus, help me to love him. My room will be just right! I do want lots of windows, though, please!

“Hush, Robert. That was not nice,” said his mother. “Now apologize to your sister.”

“Sorry!” Rob said.

I don’t think he means it, but I forgive him! thought Pearl. She just smiled.

“Very good, Pearl Girl!” said her mother, watching her. “You’re growing to be more like Christ!”

Burt chuckled, and looked through the books with them.

Pearl just smiled again, and opened another book. “Ooh!” she said. “Queen Mother, I want one with all these pretty gardens, and how about glass all along the wall, at the top, where the light can come through? Maybe I can have plants up there, or something?”

“We’ll see,” said her mother. “First, we need to get the floor plan, before we build the walls!”

“You got that right!” said Burt.

“Can I have my room on the other side of the house from his?” Pearl said.

Her mother laughed. “Why?”

“’Cause a girl needs her privacy, like Xi says,” Pearl answered.

“Oh, your own wing of the castle, right?”

“Well, I am a princess, after all!” Pearl said, and giggled.

“We’ll see,” replied her mother. “I suppose we could just build you your own tower, out in the back gardens.”

“Yes!” Pearl said. “Kind of like a royal tree house, only warm in the winter and cool in the summer, with more room, huh?” She grinned.

Her uncle laughed deeply. “Yep, we have Mr. Carrier to thank for inventing air conditioning—or maybe his wife got tired of sweating, and pressed him to do something about it. Whatever works!”

“Right!” Pearl and her mother, in unison.

“Kids, I’m going to give you 15 minutes to look through the books, and pick out designs you like. This will be a mini-lesson in public speaking. I want you to stand up and point to the picture(s), and tell me why we should put your idea in our house.”

Neat! Pearl thought, as she flipped through pages. I have lots of ideas!

“I’m gonna draw mine,” said Robert. “You said we were in art class!”

“Rob, I’ll help you speak your ideas,” said his mother softly. “We can count your drawings for art class, but I want you to stand and talk to us, too, please.”

“You can do it, Bub!” said Burt.

Pearl looked at pictures, and wrote for several minutes, then said, “I’m ready!” This is a little scary, but a lot exciting! she thought. Daddy God, Pastor Randy said that You help us dream things that You want to do. It would be so great to do all these in our new place!

“Ok, Princess, let’s hear your ideas,” said her mother. “Rob can see how you do it, then he’ll have a turn.

He scowled a bit. “Can’t I just draw them?”

His mother shook her head gently, and put her fingers to her lips. “Listen.”

Pearl stood up, holding one of the books. “Since we are royalty,” she said, “We’ll have a stone house with three floors—see, like this,” she said, holding up the book she had, to show a triple-storied mansion, “and that would save space on the ground. My bedroom would be on the top, overlooking the gardens. Actually, all of our bedrooms could overlook the gardens we’re gonna plant—full of flowers and trees, and trampolines and ziplines and birds and fountains and waterfalls! My treehouse will be bigger, and also be in the garden, and we’ll have Jesus music going through the garden, and stone paths to walk on, and mosaic benches--.”

“I don’t want flowers,” interrupted Robert. “That’s girl stuff!”

“Shhh!” said Pearl. “It’s my turn!”

Burt put his hand softly on Robert’s shoulder, and Pearl’s mother raised her eyebrows, then turned to Robert and shook her head. “Continue, Pearl.”

Pearl nodded. “We’ll be able to see the beautiful gardens and horse pasture where Sorpresa is from our bedrooms, like this,” she said, as she flipped pages to show a glass wall in a house, with greenery and light filling the space, “and our living room will have really high ceilings—for our huge Christmas tree, like Ms. Sophia’s, only this will be Jesus’ Christmas tree. There will also be those windows on top, where the sun comes in. And the stairs will go around, really pretty, between the first floor, up to the other floors, and we’ll have marble floors—” At that, she paused, seeing the look on her mother’s face.

“I’m not sure about the marble floors,” her mother said, looking at Burt, “but you can dream. Please keep going. You have three more minutes.”

“Anyway, we can have our huge flat TV built into the wall, like Ms. Sophia’s, and a way to talk to each other no matter where we are there, like she does. I’d like big windows, from floor to ceiling, and those vertical things she opens and shuts on them.”

Pearl’s mother nodded. “One minute or so left.”

Pearl talked faster. “We need a huge fridge with the shaved ice maker and good water giver, and a bar in the middle, with stools, and a bigger kitchen, and maybe two ovens, so I can be baking while Rob does his cookies.”

Burt laughed. “That’s a good point!”

Pearl smiled. “And I need a huge closet, and my own bathroom, of course—especially since the other bedrooms will be on lower floors—and a nice corner for Vivace’s bed, and lots and lots of shelves, for all my stuffed animals in storage, and my dolls from Aunt Beth, and oh yes, a place for my harp, and my own desk to study, and bookshelves, and—”

Pearl’s mother clapped. “Very good, Princess! I can certainly tell the royalty is coming out!” She laughed a bit.

“Great job, Princess!” said Burt. “You’re thinking and talking big, which is how God thinks, and you’re sharpening me,” he said.

Pearl sat down. Ooh, Daddy God, You can do this! she thought.

“Indeed!” said Pearl’s mother.

“OK, Rob, your turn,” she told him softly.

“I don’t know,” he said, “but I’m drawing it!”

He held up his paper, and showed his mother and uncle.

“Bub, that’s pretty good,” said his uncle. “I think I see your room, with a TV in the wall, and a huge RC monster truck in the middle, right? But where’s your bed?”

“Oh yeah, I want bunk beds, so Lucas can stay too,” he said, and quickly drew a set in the corner.

“No TV in your room!” said his mother. “Not for a few years, anyway, and we’ll talk about it then.”

Robert kicked the table. “But Lucas has one in his room!”

“Robert!” said his mother. “We will talk later about that. Please stand up and tell us what else you want in our new house.”

“Three camlons!” he said, “and more video games for driving, and a RC boat!”

Pearl giggled. “Chameleons, Rob, but Vivace might attack them—”

“Never mind!” he said, “I’ll just stay here!”

That would be great! Pearl thought. Jesus, I know You’re in his heart, but why is he acting like this?

Burt laughed. “Rob, come with me to feed the horses, OK? We can talk guy stuff.” He winked at Pearl and her mother. “I’m going to call Pastor Randy, and see if he can meet us to go get a burger today,” he said.

“Yeah, Unc! Just you and me and him! Yeah!” Robert said, and started jumping up and down.

Pearl’s mother nodded. “You guys have a great time! Rob, we’ll finish your work later.”

Rob ran over and hugged her, and zipped up the stairs. “I’m getting’ my hat, Uncle Burt. Be right back!”

Burt laughed. “I think it’s time for Pastor Randy and me to have a talk with Robert, and pray over him. I’m hoping God will work this out for us. If not, I’m still going to ask the LORD to help me dig out some roots in Rob’s heart, so He can heal them, as only He can.”

“Amen,” said Pearl’s mother. "Pearl and I will work on things for Jesus' Christmas Tree project."

Yes, LORD, You are the One Who heals us! thought Pearl. And if You can heal our hearts, You can sure give us a big house, and help us promote JCT!

Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. They lift Him up in books (P.O.W.E.R. Girl!; LEGACY; Visions of the King; Your Holy Health; more); presentations; service in church, community, and the world; and via the "River Rain Creative" (309 videos) and "POWERLight Learning" You Tube channels.

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