Reggie’s Tree House

By Joy Anne

This story is for the young or young at heart reader. Pastor Steve helps his neighbors (people and animals) learn about Jesus Christ and how to live out Christianity in a practical way. The story is a blend of whimsical characters and the adventures that they encounter along the way. The story contains prayers and basic teachings of Christianity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973684718

Joy Anne

This is the author’s first book. She is an ordinary Christian who felt the call of God to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a unique way with others.

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Copyright © 2020 Joy Anne.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8470-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8472-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8471-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020901661

WestBow Press rev. date:  02/06/2020

CONTENTS

Preface

Disclaimer

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

About The Author

PREFACE

It is my prayer that Reggie’s Tree House will reach the younger generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This story progressed as the Lord gave me visions, which in turn became the scenes for this book. On the pages that follow, the scenes are intermingled with my and my husband’s real-life events.

Yes, my husband really fell through the ice when he was a teenager. He and his brother threw a cinder block out onto the ice before stepping out there, which helped him get out of the water after he fell through.

Yes, I really went trick-or-treating when I was about five years old, one day in the month of May. I talked two of my friends into going with me. We wore old clothes that we found in a box and even asked my mother if it was okay. She thought that we were only pretending. It wasn’t until later, when one of the neighbors called asking my mother if she knew what her daughter was doing, that she understood we weren’t pretending. (Kids, don’t try this on your own!)

Yes, we really had a tornado blow through our town one evening. My husband pulled our car into the car wash stall to keep the hail from hitting the windshield. If we had stayed parked inside the car wash that night, I don’t believe we would be here to tell the story today.

Events from our lives, whether they were good or bad, can all be used for the glory of God. The Lord can use these events from our lives to write something beautiful: His story. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28).

DISCLAIMER

Within these pages, there is interaction between humans and wild animals. Reggie is a cute raccoon in this story. But be aware that raccoons are nocturnal and could be infected with rabies. Whenever a raccoon or other wild animal is encountered, you should stay away from such animals, as they may bite with very little provocation.

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CHAPTER 1

EARLY ONE SPRING morning, Pastor Steve walks out of his garage onto the driveway. He stretches his arms up and out as he views the beautiful sunrise developing before his eyes. Then he takes a deep breath and says, Thank you, Lord, for another beautiful morning.

Jesse walks over from the house next door, carrying a big yard sign, and says, Hi, Pastor Steve.

Good morning, Jesse. What brings you over here early this morning?

Grammy wants to know if we can put this yard sale sign over here, since your yard is on the corner, Jesse says.

Pastor Steve replies, Sure, no problem.

Thanks. We have some stuff to get rid of since I moved in with Grammy and Abuelo, Jesse says. He walks over to the corner of Pastor Steve’s yard and begins to push the sign into the ground. He struggles, trying to get the sign through the hard dirt, and then begins to wiggle it as he attempts to get it to stick into the ground.

A squirrel is close by, eating corn from the feeder on the side of the big oak tree in the front yard. Pastor Steve notices Jesse is struggling to get the sign to stick. He offers, Here, let me help you with that. He walks over and pushes down on the top of the sign. He wiggles it back and forth so that it sticks into the ground, and then says, There, that looks good.

Thanks, Pastor Steve! Grammy said for you to come over to our sale to see if there is anything that you might want for yourself.

Okay, tell your grandma I will be over in a little while, says Pastor Steve.

Jesse smiles as he skips off to help his grandma with the sale at the house next door. Pastor Steve walks back into the garage and fills containers with corn, sunflower seeds, and birdseed. As he walks out to the big oak tree to fill the feeders, birds fly away, and squirrels scurry up the tree. Pastor Steve says, Whoa, where are you little guys going? I’m only here to feed all of you. Why are you so afraid of me?

A squirrel stops climbing, turns around, and hangs upside down on the side of the tree. She looks intently as Pastor Steve fills up the feeders. Then she wiggles her nose, blinking as she watches him. Pastor Steve looks up the tree and sees the squirrel watching. He asks, Hey, little girl, what is your name?

I-I-I’m Jasmine, and that is Reggie, she answers shyly, motioning her head toward a little raccoon sitting at the base of the tree. Reggie gives a quick wave and then continues to scoop sunflower seeds into his mouth. Two squirrels and another raccoon come back down the tree, while a cat and several birds slowly start to approach. The animals begin eating again as they listen to the conversation. Jasmine asks, Why do they call you Pastor Steve?

Pastor Steve replies, Oh, that is because I’m the pastor at the church up the road. That is what I do. It is who I am.

Jasmine asks, But what is a pastor?

With an authoritative voice, Reggie speaks up. Don’t you know what a pastor is? That is a grassy field where cows, sheep, and horses eat.

Pastor Steve chuckles and says, "No, Reggie, you are describing a pasture. A pastor is a person who has the privilege of serving and leading people in their church and community. The most important part of a pastor’s job is helping people grow closer to God."

Oh, all the animals respond in unison, as if they understand.

Reggie has a look on his face indicating that he is thinking hard about what has been said. He asks, Who is God?

Pastor Steve looks amazed and replies emphatically, Who is God? He made you; He made me; He made your family, friends, trees, sun, moon, and stars. Everything that we see in nature was created by God. Then Pastor Steve sits down on a bench in the yard that is in front of the big oak tree. He leans forward to place the food containers underneath the bench, reaches into his jacket pocket, and pulls out a book. The animals gather around as they wonder what is inside the book he holds in his hands.

My animal friends, this is a bible, says Pastor Steve as he holds the book in front of them.

A female raccoon speaks up. I heard it said that God spoke everything into existence. Is that true, Pastor Steve?

Yes, that is exactly what He did! And what is your name?

My name is Jenna. I’m Reggie’s sister, and that is our cousin BJ over there, she says as she points to the other raccoon, who is scooping up sunflower seeds from the ground.

Hi, BJ. And what are the rest of your names? asks Pastor Steve of all of the animals gathered around.

A cat looks up and says, My name is Blaze.

Why do they call you Blaze? asks Pastor Steve.

Blaze proudly answers, Well, that is because I’m very fast, and I have this small patch of white fur on my neck that stands out from the rest of my black fur.

Pastor Steve nods as all of the other animals tell him their names. Two squirrels are eating from the feeder, and one speaks up. My name is Sammy, and my brother here is Mickey.

Pastor Steve smiles and says, Well, it is very nice to meet all of you. Now, let’s find out what the Bible tells us about God and how He created the earth.

Sammy asks, What is the Bible?

The Bible is God’s Word. It is made up of sixty-six books. Each book contains chapters and verses that teach us how to live for God. We can find many important nuggets in the Bible, says Pastor Steve.

Reggie stands up on his hind feet, trying to look inside at the pages, and asks, There are nuggets in the Bible?

Pastor Steve says, What I mean is that there are very important instructions to be found in God’s Word. We dig for these nuggets by reading and asking God to help us find them. Just like our squirrel friends know where to find nuts they have buried in the ground, the chapters and verses have numbers that help us find the scriptures easily.

BJ states, Wow, that is a thick book. There must be a lot of nuggets in there!

There certainly are! Now, let’s find out who God is and what He has done for us, says Pastor Steve. He opens his bible and reads, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he