Posted on August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 by kate [loop] hannon

Short Story: The Boy with the Harmonica

Jaden couldn’t believe the amazing gift his father had given him: his very own harmonica! He quickly mastered the implement and loved playing it.

He began playing it all day. He played it early in the morning before anyone else woke up.

“Stop it!” His brother groaned, rolling over in bed, but Jaden didn’t care. He kept playing.

He played it next to his other brother while he was studying. “Stop it!” His brother pleaded, but Jaden just kept playing. It was kind of fun to annoy him.

He played it instead of doing his own studying and chores, not caring if he got anything else done. Playing the harmonica was all that mattered.

He played it during lunch, making it impossible for anyone to talk at the table. He kept playing, hoping someone would notice how great of a player he’d become.

Jaden finally stopped when he heard his father’s voice summoning him.

“Jaden,” his father said quietly, “why do you think I gave you the harmonica?”

Jaden thought for a minute. “Because you knew I’d like it?”

His father smiled. “Why else do you think?”

Jaden wasn’t quite sure. He looked at his father questioningly.

“I gave it to you to bless others with music. Music can make people smile. It can help pass weary hours. But do you think you’ve used it as a blessing today?”

Jaden thought of his brothers’ reactions. They hadn’t seemed blessed. “No-oo,” he admitted.

His father nodded. “Remember, son, your gift is to bless others, not to serve yourself, annoy your brothers, or get attention. Okay?”

Jaden nodded. He needed to remember the purpose of his gift.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

Posted on September 9, 2025September 10, 2025 by kate [loop] hannon

Short Story: Deal with the Mess

“Just stuff it in the closet!” Johnny heard his mom call out. They were all frantically cleaning the house for company.

Johnny opened the closet door cautiously. It was stuffed to overflowing with other things they’d just “stuffed in the closet” before. He shook his head. What a mess!

He knew it wasn’t just the closet either. The basement, garage, and other closed-off places all needed hazmat suits to enter. They were running out of space to stuff; what would they do then?

“What are you doing?” Johnny asked his mom. The hallway was filled with stuff—stuff he hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. Where had it all come from?

“We are cleaning out the closet…and the then the basement and garage,” his mother replied, wiping sweat off her forehead.

“Ummm, Mom, it looks worse now. We can’t even walk through the hallway.”

Mom sighed. “I know. Facing the mess is no fun, and it does look worse. But it’s the only way to get it all better. We need to deal with the junk, not just hide it. And then once we do,” she added with determination, “we’re going to keep dealing with it instead of trying to hide it.”

Mom’s organizing project seemed to take forever. The whole house, not just hideaways, felt overrun for a time. But then, order—true order—arrived. Johnny could find his toys again…and his roller blades. In the end, it had been worth it to not just hide everything away.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 (ESV)

Posted on October 4, 2022October 4, 2022 by kate [loop] hannon

Story: A Struggling Light

Luz felt very odd shining so bright and standing out from the shelf on which he sat in the palace throne room. He wanted to blend in a little more. Let me just inch over here behind this ledge, he thought to himself.

“Luz, what are you doing?” Beacon called out from a nearby shelf.

“I just don’t want to stand out quite so much,” Luz replied. “I figured everyone would be more comfortable around me if I just blended in a little.”

Beacon wagged his wick at Luz. “No, no, Luz. Don’t you see? You’re a light. You’re supposed to be different than the darkness. It’s your job to shine brightly. Your life isn’t about you—it’s about shining light in a darkness.”

Luz knew Beacon was right. “But it’s so dark…”

“All the more reason to shine brightly,” came Beacon’s response.

A few weeks later, Luz had the opposite problem. He wanted everyone to notice him. He kept trying to extend his wick extra high, hoping people would see what a great light he was. He was burning bright…and he liked it when others noticed.

Beacon again had to caution his light friend. “Luz, why were you lit?”

“To shine brightly,” Luz replied, confused by the question. Had Beacon forgotten his previous lecture?

“To shine brightly so that people could see the King on his throne. Your job is not for people to see you, but the King.”

Luz knew Beacon was right. He trimmed his wick a little and looked toward the throne himself. He discovered that if he kept his own gaze there, his light shone brightly in a way that illuminated the darkness for others to see the King too.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)

Posted on March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Short Story: Read the Instructions

Susie felt completely overwhelmed. She had so much to do…and she didn’t feel good on top of it. She decided to make herself a smoothie, hopeful it would give her some energy.

She’d never used her new blender, but that was okay. She was confident she could figure it out. She threw her ingredients inside, not stopping to read the instructions or the warning label on the top of the blender. She was sure she knew how to use a blender.

Now to put it into the glass. She took the lid off and poured, trying to get all of the blended mixture into her glass…

Sharp pain made Susie cry out. The blades of this blender had not stayed in the machine like Susie was used to–instead, they had fallen on her, cutting her finger badly in the process.

After a trip to urgent care for stitches, Susie went home and did what she should have done from the beginning: read the warning label. Sure enough, it warned her about those blades. Oh, she should never have just charged forward on her own understanding without reading that label!

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

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Posted on February 24, 2018February 26, 2018 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Story: Take Off the Mask

On the outside, Olivia looked like she had it all together. She always wore a smile and never looked frazzled or tired. Her secret?

A mask. It was easy to look put together wearing a mask. No matter how out of sorts inside she felt, her mask was always smiling. No matter how bad the sickness from which she suffered was, her mask always looked healthy and vibrant.

Only there were a lot of problems with wearing a mask. For one, it kept her from getting better. Underneath the mask, Olivia was suffering from a terrible illness, and the mask only trapped it all inside, making it worse and keeping her from getting help. After all, others had no idea she was even sick!

One day, Olivia realized she couldn’t handle the mask any longer. She needed help. Hesitatingly, she allowed a friend to see under the mask. To her great surprise, her friend didn’t freak out. Instead, she pulled up her own mask, showing that she, too, was trapping an illness inside. Honest with each other at last, they were able to help one another and get the treatment they needed. Oh, how freeing it was to let the mask fall off!

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 5:7 (ESV)

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (ESV)

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16 (ESV)

Posted on March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Short Story: Failed Again

Sam was part of the flying squadron. Each of the soldiers in this squadron had been given a futuristic flight suit that allowed them to literally fly 30 feet off the ground. Sam loved the thrill of flying through the air. But lately, he’d been having trouble. Instead of flying, all of his attempts had resulted in one failed attempt after another.

Sam hung his head low as he walked back into the building. He felt like such a failure. His attempt at jumping off the ground and flying had proved disastrous. In fact, he’d landed on the ground, done a somersault, and had a host of black and blue marks to prove it. How could he have failed his commander so badly again?

“Hey, man, what’s up? You look like you’ve been beat up.” The greeting came from Jason, Sam’s fellow soldier and good friend.

Sam explained what had happened, and the disastrous fall. He expected Jason to be shocked that Sam could fail so badly, but Jason wasn’t surprised in the least. His question startled Sam, “Did you have your flight suit on?”

Sam shook his head. “No, I didn’t bring the flight suit. I thought I’d flown enough times I could handle it.”

Jason choked in a laugh, but couldn’t quite resist a little smile. “Sam, you can’t ever fly without the flight suit. There’s nothing in you that will ever be able to fly.”

Sam stopped in his tracks and stared at his friend. “But I thought the commander expected us to grow and master flying on our own. That one day I’d be good enough to fly alone.”

Jason shook his head. “That’s just not how it works, brother. You can try all day, but you’ll never be able to fly apart from that suit. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 (KJV)

Posted on January 31, 2015 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Story: A Mixed-Up Army

Jake had never seen such a mixed-up army before. They were in the middle of a battle, with bullets flying all around. Yet the soldiers all seemed more concerned with what their fellow soldiers thought of them than they did of the war!

“I pressed my uniform this morning,” one was explaining proudly to his fellow soldier. Blood was gushing from a bullet wound in his leg, but the soldier was wearing a brave face. He didn’t want anyone to know he had gotten hurt. He wanted to look like a good soldier.

Another soldier, obviously a seasoned one, responded by sharing in pride about some of the battles he’d lived through and the things he knew. When another soldier joined them and began sharing proudly too, Jake decided he’d had enough.

“This is ridiculous, you guys!” he exclaimed. “We’re all in a battle, not a competition.” Without another word, he tore off his jacket and began using it to bandage the one soldier’s leg.

The other soldiers hung their head as each remembered they’d nothing really to be proud about. Their commander had led them to victory. He’d given them a position to serve and to fight the good fight. It wasn’t about them at all. There was a battle to be fought, not a competition to be won. They slowly turned, shoulder to shoulder, and reengaged in the battle, encouraging and helping their fellow soldiers.

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:11-16

Thought: I Can’t

“God helps those who help themselves”—or so the saying goes. Yet God’s Word tells us God helps the humble (James 4:6), the sick (Mark 2:17), and the meek (Psalm 147:6). God helps those who realize they can’t help themselves.

At the same time, the Bible certainly doesn’t tell us to curl up in defeat or do nothing. We’re urged to seek the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:11), obey His Word (James 1:25, Hebrews 3:15), and repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). We do need to “help ourselves” in the sense of acknowledging our inability, running to the One who can help us, and obeying what He’s told us to do in His Word, knowing that ultimately, we’re helpless without Him.

Do you feel as if you can’t go on? As if your heart is breaking? Are you out of strength? Be honest before God about it—He knows anyway.

And be honest with others too. We all need help fighting this battle called life. It’s warfare, not a competition for the most-put-together-Christian prize. Wars are messy and tough. But our Captain has already won the victory and given us the tools to walk in that victory, such as prayer, praise, and repentance. He is able to do what we are not–don’t let anything keep you from running to Him.

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” James 4:6

“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Mark 2:17

“The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.” Psalm 147:6

Category: Pride