Welcome to the "Don't Blame the Mud Only Jesus Makes Us Clean" book tour

I received this book from New Growth Press in exchange for this review. The opinions I  expressed are my own and are my honest opinion of the book.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Marty Machowski helps parents talk to their children
about temptations, choices and consequences

For young readers and families, Don’t Blame the Mud paints a vivid and accurate picture of sin and God’s plan of redemption. Written by best-selling children’s author Marty Machowski, this beautifully illustrated picture book teaches children how to recognize the lure of temptation and the truth that bad choices lead to bad consequences.

One day, Max takes the muddy path along the creek home, disregarding his mother’s reminder to keep his school clothes clean. After crashing into a mud puddle, he tries to hide his mistake and discovers the stain of his sin goes deeper than the mud he can wash away. In this lovable, relatable, and heartwarming tale, Max learns his heart needs to be cleaned, and Jesus is the only one who can wash away his sin.

By clearly articulating the gospel, Don’t Blame the Mud helps parents create an environment of confession so kids can own up to their own mistakes—in the freedom of Christ—rather than place the blame elsewhere. Parents, teachers, and caretakers can help children identify with the real-life draw of temptation and the real-life consequences of sin, understanding the value of God’s salvation through the cross. Instead of teaching kids how to deal with a problem, Machowski uncovers the real issue of sin and provides a gospel answer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for thirty years. Machowski leads Promise Kingdom, the gospel-centered children’s ministry of Covenant Fellowship.
 
He is the author of numerous resources for churches and families, including The Gospel Story for Kids series, The Ology, and Parenting First Aid. His latest release is the children’s picture book, Don’t Blame the Mud.
 
Machowski and his wife, Lois reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania. They have six children and two grandchildren. He is also the Executive Editor for Children’s Resources at New Growth Press.

MY REVIEW:

The first thing I noticed when I opened up the book was the scripture of John 3:16, I'm using the KJV version, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life"

This sets the setting and premise of the book.  Max is a typical kid who hears the warning of his mother to keep his clothes clean, but just like any kid, he had good intentions of keeping them clean, until he saw a trail and it was just too inviting not to follow along it. One disaster leads to another and of course, Max gets his clothes dirty and muddy.  He knows he's in trouble and does his best to cover up his misdeed.  And I'll leave it at that, I don't do spoilers.

I loved how this book beautifully explains about sin and temptation. Mud being sin and the trail being the temptation.

Max knew what he was doing was wrong, but the temptation to walk that trail was too inviting. Like most people, we choose not to obey God's word and we do things on our own, then later we try to cover up that guilt and shame, by blaming someone else or the object of our guilt.  And no matter what we try to do, that guilt stays on us.  Maybe from the outside we look clean, but from the inside, it's mud and it festers and begins to stink, and we don't know how to get rid of it.  The only way to get clean is through Jesus Christ, He is the ONLY one that can disinfect, wipe clean all of that mud and festering stench from our mind, soul and body.

It's a whimsical book with beautiful illustrations that takes you on Max's journey to salvation.  I highly recommend this read, it's very easy for young children to comprehend and at the end of this book, there is help for the parents on teaching children to understand sin and the gospel of Christ.

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