What do you think?
Rate this book
Building on the Rock #1
How God Used A Thunderstorm
The mountains are dark and looming as the lightening splits across the sky. The forest offers shelter and in the distance the traveller spots a lamp. Rushing towards the door he doesn't realise that someone has planned this journey - there is a woman in the house who needs to hear about her loving Savior, Jesus Christ. God has sent the traveller to tell her about himself.
There are lots of stories in this book. Read about the thunderstorm, some hidden treasure and a Bible in a suitcase as well as many other stories about how we should live for God and read his word.
There are lots of stories in this book. Read about the thunderstorm, some hidden treasure and a Bible in a suitcase as well as many other stories about how we should live for God and read his word.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Diana Kleyn
24 books2 followersDiana Kleyn is a member of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the mother of three children, and has a heart for helping children understand and embrace the truths of God's Word. She writes monthly for the children's section in The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth magazine, and is co-author with Joel R. Beeke of the series Building on the Rock.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 18, 2021
2021:
I re-read this to the kids and I think I agree with my past self that this was probably the weakest one of the books. The stories are fairly moralizing, which isn't bad, but that seems to be the only point of the story, and the listener is often left completely hanging as to the fate of the characters (the story doesn't matter, only the moral point does).
2017:
So the doctrinal content is generally very good, but as someone who appreciates a good story, these just fall completely flat. For example, in one of the stories, a couple of orphaned boys are traveling trying to find their uncle and they are asked to sell their sole possession---a Bible---in order to pay for food and lodging. They both tearfully refuse, saying God's word is too precious to them. Do the boys find their uncle? Do they grow up? Raise families, love God all their lives? Who knows, the "story" just wants to get across some "lesson", which may be good but simply isn't engaging.
Put another way, the stories feel very much like morals, sneakily hid in the guise of a story. E.g., Little Jimmy loves God, and spends 16 hours a day reading his Bible (even foregoing food and any other pleasure) and is praised for being a good little boy. The end. And I can just see the suspicion in my children's eyes.
I just feel like too much Christian literature is simply poor story telling. A good story (think of one of Jesus' parables or any of the Old Testament stories) has a lesson to be learned, certainly, but also has a beginning, an ending, is engaging, and perhaps most importantly feels REAL. These all felt made up to illustrate one singular (almost petty at times) point.
So clean, reasonably instructive content (nothing too deep, more moralistic and an almost strangely superstitious reverence for physical Bibles) but just really bad story telling.
I re-read this to the kids and I think I agree with my past self that this was probably the weakest one of the books. The stories are fairly moralizing, which isn't bad, but that seems to be the only point of the story, and the listener is often left completely hanging as to the fate of the characters (the story doesn't matter, only the moral point does).
2017:
So the doctrinal content is generally very good, but as someone who appreciates a good story, these just fall completely flat. For example, in one of the stories, a couple of orphaned boys are traveling trying to find their uncle and they are asked to sell their sole possession---a Bible---in order to pay for food and lodging. They both tearfully refuse, saying God's word is too precious to them. Do the boys find their uncle? Do they grow up? Raise families, love God all their lives? Who knows, the "story" just wants to get across some "lesson", which may be good but simply isn't engaging.
Put another way, the stories feel very much like morals, sneakily hid in the guise of a story. E.g., Little Jimmy loves God, and spends 16 hours a day reading his Bible (even foregoing food and any other pleasure) and is praised for being a good little boy. The end. And I can just see the suspicion in my children's eyes.
I just feel like too much Christian literature is simply poor story telling. A good story (think of one of Jesus' parables or any of the Old Testament stories) has a lesson to be learned, certainly, but also has a beginning, an ending, is engaging, and perhaps most importantly feels REAL. These all felt made up to illustrate one singular (almost petty at times) point.
So clean, reasonably instructive content (nothing too deep, more moralistic and an almost strangely superstitious reverence for physical Bibles) but just really bad story telling.
March 25, 2020
Good stories to discuss with children
July 9, 2019
4 stars because of the theology. 3 stars for the storytelling. 4 stars because my boys enjoyed it. Overall 4 stars. I would recommend it and will be doing more of these devotional stories with my guys.
May 9, 2020
Excelente ferramenta para culto familiar.
January 18, 2022
My dad read these to me when I was little. They will always have a place in my heart. Would recommend
March 5, 2023
Good short stories to use in family worship for your children. Looking forward to buying the rest of the set!
October 6, 2012
This is the first of a series of four books. They each include around 30 short, true stories. Each one in the series contains stories with a similar focus. This book focuses on stories about living for God and the value of Scripture. I had mixed feelings about it. There was nothing wrong about it, I agreed with the theology, but I can't say I really liked it. Maybe part of it was that the stories were so short that I had a hard time getting into them. They seemed made up to me even though they're supposed to be true. I would've liked to have known more about the people in the stories or where the stories came from, but I imagine most kids don't care about that kind of thing. The introduction says that many of the stories are from some books written by Richard Newton, but I've never heard of him. It also says that most of the stories happened in the 19th century. The morals were good, but some of the stories left me wondering if there really is any one quite that good. I also didn't think the writing was that good. However, the kids in my church seem to like this series so maybe there is something in it that appeals to kids even if I don't understand it.
September 17, 2016
I love this series of devotionals for families. We read one together every morning before school. Each story is historical and true; a wonderful testimony of our loving Father and His work in the lives of ordinary sinners. Just like the last book we read in this series, this one left us in tears most days.
May 7, 2011
A good bedtime devotional that has enough action to keep my boys attention. We really enjoyed reading this together, and they are already looking forward to the next one in the series.
March 28, 2015
Last read February 27, 2014
January 24, 2016
Previously Read
March 28, 2015
September 23, 2014
March 28, 2015
September 23, 2014
April 17, 2015
The stories are absolutely wonderful and the kids love them. They teach simple truths from the Scripture in a memorable way. What more could a dad ask for?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews