Don't Blame the Mud: Only Jesus Makes Us Clean

I thought this book provided an excellent adaptation of the weight of shame, and what to do about it. It was an easy read, and utilized solid scripture and a great metaphor to explain sin, repentance, reconciliation and restoration. Hints of the Gospel are seen on every page. I highly recommend this book for little. Even as an adult I found it very emotionally moving by remembering Jesus dying in my place.

I love this book. I read it to my kids right away and the love it. I also used it in my Sunday School lesson, and the kids all loved it and were very engaged. What an incredible way to be able to share the gospel! Great work!

New Growth Press has recently released another great Christ-exalting, Gospel-centered, children’s book. It’s called “Don’t Blame the Mud: Only Jesus Makes Us Clean.” It is written by Marty Machowski and illustrated by Craig MacIntosh. Machowski has written numerous other books with New Growth Press, all of which are rich in content and made easy to understand for parent and child alike. The main idea of Machowski’s book is to help the child understand the nature of sin and temptation. The book begins with Max, an elementary aged child, beginning to walk home from school. He recalls his mother’s instructions from the morning time: “make sure not to get your school clothes dirty”. Instead of walking down the sidewalk where he was most likely not going to get his clothes dirty, he decided to take a trail that ran along the creek. It was a muddy path that “seemed to call out to” Max. He believed that he would be able to catch frogs and skip stones all while being able to remain clean. After a few close calls, Max finally fell into the mud. He eventually finds his way home, and he immediately runs to his room in order to change his clothes so that his mother won’t find out. What he didn’t realize was that he had mud all over his face and body and that there was mud all over the place, leading right to him. Even after taking a shower, Max still felt dirty. Machowski then brings Max’s father into the picture, and he explains to his son how only Christ can make us clean, how our sin and guilt are washed away by the blood of Christ. Machowski does an amazing job of showing what sin and temptation looks like, making it truly easy to understand for a child. I am very grateful for his emphasis on the necessity and sufficiency of Christ’s death on our behalf to make us clean. Even as an adult reading the book to my children, I resonated with what it was like to feel unclean after sinning. A shower (or anything else) was not able to take away the guilt and shame. But confessing our sins and receiving the forgiveness and cleansing that only Christ can provide is the answer! STRENGTHS: -The content of the book (Gospel-centered and not focused on just being a good person) -Great illustrations by Craig MacIntosh -Very easy for children to understand, and really helps them to make the connection to the Gospel of Jesus Christ -Great length for children -Beautiful slip cover -The back of the book contains a page on “Helping Your Child Undrstand Sin.” It helps parents to go even further into their teaching of this topic to their children. It also has a page called “Helping Your Child Understand the Gospel.” Lastly, there is a page with key bible verses to remember, a prayer from Psalm 51, and a plea from John 13:8. WEAKNESSES -Though this book clearly and concisely brings the passive obedience of Christ into the story (Christ’s death), it does not discuss His active righteousness (His perfect life). I think there was room for discussion of Christ’s imputation of His righteousness to dirty sinners. I think that could have easily been woven into the discussion that Max’s dad had with Max. SUMMARY I can’t recommend this book enough! I think it’s an amazing way of teaching your children the nature of sin and temptation. It will really help them to grow in their understanding of God’s Word on this topic. Disclaimer: My thanks to New Growth Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book on behalf of an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.

It has been said one of the most neglected mission fields is right in our homes. For parents with children, there is a unique opportunity to not only share the gospel with their sons and daughters but to also live out the faith before them. This does not happen on accident but takes intentionality on the part of the parent, seeing problematic situations as opportunities to show God’s grace and share the gospel with their kids. A picture of what this looks like can be found in Marty Machowski’s latest book Don’t Blame the Mud: Only Jesus Makes Us Clean. A Story about Max and the Mud With wonderful illustrations drawn by Craig McIntosh, Don’t Blame the Mud takes parents and children on a journey with Max, a youth on his way home from school. Dressed in his proper school uniform, Max is reminded of his mother’s command and warning to not get his clothes dirty. However, Max finds it too tempting to not make a maze out of the mud that seems to be along the pathway home. One misstep and he finds himself with mud on his shoes and clothes. Dirty on the outside, he tries to quietly arrive home and sneak into his room. With the trail he leaves behind him, his mother catches on and confronts him on the matter. Before she and his father speak with him, though, he is told to take a shower. While he is washing the mud off on the outside, Max still feels the muck inside of him. Upon facing his parents, he dares to shift the blame on the mud but his parents are swift to tell him where the fault lies, in his own heart. Thankfully, they do not leave the conversation there. Max’s parents use this incident with the mud to help their son understand sin and share with him the hope of the gospel. The closing pages of the book leave notes for parents to make sure their child understands sin and has a grasp on the gospel with Bible verses to remember along the way. Creating Gospel Conversations For Families What Marty Machowski has accomplished in this children’s book is helping children understand how their heart desires may reveal their sinfulness and where their hope of salvation can only be found. While some pages can be harder to read as the words and background blend together in color, the blending of everyday life and the truth of the gospel equips parents and encourage sons and daughters. It equips parents to see how everyday circumstances can lead into gospel conversations, and it encourages children to see how their sin shows up in their lives and how Jesus Christ alone can save them and make them clean. While this book may be referenced as a children’s book, Don’t Blame the Mud is not just for children. It is for families, parents and their children, to read together. If you desire to have gospel conversations in your home and with your family in the everyday stuff of life, then you need to read and glean from Don’t Blame the Mud: Only Jesus Makes Us Clean by Marty Machowski. I received this book from New Growth Press in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and are my honest review of the book.

It’s not MY fault! They made me do it! I was just minding my own business, but then she… We’re all used to these sort of excuses and blame-shifting, aren’t we? We not only see it in our children and teenagers, but even among adults and within ourselves. It’s a common trait of sinful, fallen men — one that traces its origins all the way back to the Garden when Adam blame-shifts and turns the spotlight away from himself and onto God and Eve by saying: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). Teaching our children how to take responsibility for sin, and much more importantly, how God responds to our sin and offers to forgive sin is something that we all as parents strive to do better. One powerful way that we can teach these things to our children in a memorable and impactful way is through the use of stories. And one such story that New Growth Press has recently published is excellent in this regard — Don’t Blame the Mud: Only Jesus Makes Us Clean by Marty Machowski The Story Despite his mother’s reminder to keep his school clothes clean, Max thinks that he can walk down the muddy path where he can catch frogs and skip stones without getting his clothes dirty. As he says as he embarks on this path of temptation, “Soon I forgot all about Mom’s warnings.” The book then details his expedition of walking on logs, hopping over rocks, and dodging mud splashes, all along with Max thinking, “Mom will never know I came home this way.” And then things take a turn for the worse. A frog jumps out in front of him, he trips on a stick, and grabs hold of a tree branch, which proceeds to break. He almost makes it out unscathed until he slips on a rock and boom — straight into the mud. Max scrambles to figure out what to do. He decides he’ll try to hide his disobedience and sneak into his room, discard of his clothes, and his mom will never know of his disobedience. We all know how that works out though. Upon seeing the mud tracks leading to his room, his mom knew exactly what happened. Max shifts the attention off of him and blames the mud for splashing on him — not owning up to his own decision to ignore his mom’s command and avoid the path home where the mud was in the first place. After being confronted by his dad, Max finally owns up to his sin, realizing through his parents’ teaching that the stain of his disobedience goes deeper than the mud on his clothes — a stain that only Jesus can take care of for us. The Review In a vividly illustrated and told story, Machowski helps parents teach their children the real consequences of sin and the real forgiveness that God offers through Jesus in the Gospel. New Growth Press’s website summarizes it well when they say: 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. I found this book to be very well done and a very helpful addition to our library for our children. I read it with our four year old and he really enjoyed the story, though I don’t think the real lessons that the story drove home were quite able to connect with him yet. I think the primary age target for this book would be in the 6-10 years old range, though it is certainly helpful for children younger and older! With the sections at the end of “helping your child understand sin” and “helping your child understand the gospel,” Machowski helps parents with some practical tips and questions to drive the truths of the book home. I plan to continue to read this with our children in the years to come and, Lord willing as they mature and progress in their understanding, I trust that they will be helped by this book to see the real-life draw of temptation, the real-life consequences of sin, and the amazing grace of God’s salvation through the cross of Jesus In accordance with FTC regulations, I would like to thank New Growth Press for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Great teaching tool! If you have been wanting to teach your child about salvation but wasn't sure how to go about it or where to start, this is the book to use. I run an after school program at our church and do a weekly Bible lesson. We have talked many times about Jesus dying for our sins so that we could be forgiven. But besides reading it right from the bible (which we do and it is confusing for a child) I try to teach them the best I can about salvation. That everyone sins, but we all can have the gift of forgiveness. I feel like I sound like a broken record that they stop listening to LOL. I love that everything I want to say is right here in story form. I can read a few pages and talk about it and explain what it means. There is the Bible verse - John 3:16 in the front of the book and in the back is a two page spread of how to teach and help your child understand. I will be using this book with them and honestly, I think they will love it and be able to relate to it. I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from Read with Audra ~ Thank You!

It was not the story described. It was more of a teaching story than an entertaining book

Wow!! I have been a fan of Marty Machowski's for a while now. We are actually currently working our way through one of his 10 minute devotions, Wise Up: Ten-Minute Family Devotions in Proverbs. So we were excited to dig into this short story book for kids. It is the perfect length that will keep everyone engaged, even younger kids. The illustrations are very adorable and my kids enjoyed them. The story is very skilled at representing our sin and how we need God to clean us. It shows that we are responsible for our own sin and only God can help us to get clean. Not only is the story very engaging and entertaining but it clearly shares the Gospel through Max's parents. Max understands His need for a Savior and actually comes to Christ right in the pages of the story. So this is a terrific way to get conversations started. I actually wish I had come upon this book when my kids are younger, but we will be sharing it with everyone. At the end is a space for parents to help guide you in talking to your kids about salvation and some steps to take if they are ready. This is such an amazing resource that should be in every home. Thanks to the publisher for our free copy, no review was required.