don't blame the mud -- a book review

Don't Blame the Mud, by Marty Machowski, author of The Ology and The Gospel Story Bible, gives a simple story to parents that is illustrative of how sin often occurs.  In the story, Max is on his way home from school, and he hears his mother's voice resounding in his head not to fall into the mud and get dirty.  All he has to do is walk home, change his clothes, and then he can go out and play.  It's pretty simple.  But then he sees a muddy path, and he knows he can just run along the trail next to the creek to skip stones and find frogs.  Why wait when he can do it now?  He won't get dirty.

Max gets the mud on him.  Just as Paul personifies sin in Romans 6-7, illustrator Craig McIntosh personifies the mud.  The mud grabs him and covers him.  It gets everywhere.  So Max sneaks in, hides his muddy clothes, puts on new clothes, picks up a book, and jumps in bed as if nothing ever happened.  His mom sees right through him.  Max showers off the mud, but he still feels dirty.  He then lies to his dad and blames it on the mud.  He slipped and fell.  But Dad sees right through it too.

Don't Blame the Mud is the gospel story, told in a clear, precise way that children will understand.  The book ends with a clear description of grace and its response to sin written particularly with children in mind.
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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.