Paws & Tales

Ned: Donation spot for Paws & Tales. You ready, Dave? In three, two, one.

Dave Carl: Hi, this is Dave Carl, creator of Paws & Tales. We are working hard to let the whole world know about just how much God loves His children. We do that through music, storytelling, and a whole lot of fun.

Ned: Yeah, there are a lot of kids and families who don't know about us yet, so we need your help. Just visit pawsandtales.org and you'll see a donate button there. Click on it and type in two kabillion dollars.

Dave Carl: Ned, stop. Any donation amount would be helpful. We'll use it carefully and wisely, the same way Insight for Living has done for more than 40 years. Join us and become part of the Paws & Tales team so we can invite the world to imagine God's love.

Ned: Even one kabillion dollars would be really helpful.

Dave Carl: Ned.

Insight for Living: Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. If you stay on the trails and stick with me, there is adventure to be had there too. Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales.

Howdy and welcome to Wildwood. It is starting to get cool these days. The weather is pretty unpredictable this time of year. One thing you can always count on, though, when Gus is in town, it is going to be a good day. No one can tell a story quite like old Captain Gus.

Captain Gus: Once there was a soldier in the army of Israel. His name was Achan. Achan lived in the time of Joshua. The nation of Israel had just come into the Promised Land after traveling in the desert for 40 years.

The first thing the Lord told them to do was to utterly destroy the toughest city in the land, Jericho. The Lord told them that He would bring the walls down, but then they would need to go in and finish the job. Achan knew that he was about to be involved in an actual miracle of God.

Insight for Living: At the very moment the boys were learning about Achan, Marsha and the girls were at the new library putting the final touches on the fulfillment of Marsha's dream to collect food and blankets for the needy folks of Wildwood. Her plans started out small, but then they got bigger until they got so big, Marsha found herself giving an interview to a reporter from Frontera.

Timmy: Now what exactly are you calling this event?

Marsha: The Bring Food and See the World Night.

Timmy: I like it. So how does it work?

Marsha: I just know that there are folks, lots of them, who have never been outside Wildwood. I thought that they would love to learn about neat things from other countries. I asked different people if they would lend us some of their things from around the world.

If you bring some food to donate, you get to come in and see all of the wonderful stuff that we have here, like Roman artifacts and dresses from different lands and even some paintings from foreign countries. It starts tomorrow night, so make sure that you tell everybody that. It starts at seven.

Timmy: I have got it. Now, Mrs. Collins is participating, is that right?

Marsha: Yes, she has been a huge help. But the most surprising help came from another generous helper, Tiffany Rockler. She is bringing in her doll collection from all around the world. I hear it is just amazing.

Timmy: That is Mr. Rockler's daughter.

Marsha: That is right. She has been very sweet to offer her collection.

Tiffany Rockler: Coming through! Excuse me, please. We are in a rush here.

Marsha: Tiffany, this is Timmy. He is a reporter for the Frontera Gazette.

Tiffany Rockler: Truly? Please, just call me Tiffany. All my friends do.

Marsha: But would you look at all these dolls. Wow, Staci, there must be hundreds.

Tiffany Rockler: There are two more carts to come, girls. There are exactly 574 dolls.

Marsha: Look at this. This is going to make the event so great.

Insight for Living: As Marsha started putting the dolls into the glass cases for display, she gazed in amazement at one doll in particular.

Marsha: Staci, Gus, have you ever seen anything so beautiful? Her hair is like spun gold, and her eyes close when you lay her down. Tiffany, what is this doll's name?

Tiffany Rockler: Marsha, I am in the middle of an interview here. I do not know what its name is. How am I supposed to know? Anyway, Timmy, have a seat. So then we were on a cruise ship and...

Marsha: How could anyone have a doll like this and ever let it out of their sight?

Guest (Female): Are you kidding? Tiffany has all kinds of wonderful things that she could care less about. It is one of the things she does best.

Marsha: I never would if she were mine. When people hear there will be beautiful things like this at the See the World event, the whole town will come. This is just amazing.

Insight for Living: Right then, Marsha realized that God was about to really bless this event. She truly felt that she was about to be a part of a miracle of God.

Captain Gus: Now, the army was getting ready to go to Jericho when Joshua gave them one last bit of instruction. He told them that all of the gold, all of the silver, and all of the articles of bronze and iron were to be placed into the treasury of the Lord. No one was to keep any of those things for themselves. None of them.

The army marched around the city like they were supposed to, and the Lord pulled those walls right down, just like He said. Then the soldiers rushed in to finish off the town. After fighting for who knows how long, Achan was exhausted and stumbled into an empty house. A very nice empty house, if I do say so myself.

He was alone and tired, and there on the table, he saw a bar of pure gold. He looked around and saw a pile of silver coins, too, and a beautiful robe. So there he was, right in the middle of doing the will of God, and he was tempted by things he knew were forbidden.

Insight for Living: It was getting to be about supper time and most of the folks helping at the library had headed home. The only ones left were Marsha, Tiffany, and the poor reporter that Tiffany would not let go.

Timmy: Well, that is interesting. I have to meet the train now or I will be stranded all night.

Tiffany Rockler: Oh, I will walk over with you.

Timmy: That would be really nice.

Tiffany Rockler: Marsha, when you get done there, just close the door to the cabinet and it will lock. Make sure you hear it click. We do not want any of those dolls to get up and walk away, do we? Ready, Timmy?

Timmy: Yes, I am.

Insight for Living: Marsha was still arranging dolls in the cases. She had left the doll with the golden hair till last. She just could not let that doll go. There she was in the middle of a great miracle of God, and she was tempted to take something that she knew she could never have.

Marsha: Tiffany has dolls she cannot even remember. She does not even know your name. If she will not give you the love you deserve, then I will. You are coming home with me, and I will call you Goldie. We will be together.

Peter: Hi, I am Peter.

Eric: And I am his brother Eric.

Peter: We are from Calgary, Canada. You know what I like to listen to the most?

Eric: Paws & Tales, of course. There is more Paws & Tales coming right up after this.

Gus the Moose: Do you know what the biggest problem in the whole gigantic world is?

Dave Carl: I guess I do not. What is it?

Gus the Moose: What to wear to school. I get so excited about going to school that I do not plan stuff out very well. I wore my shirt on backwards last week, do not you know?

Dave Carl: I think I have got a suggestion for you. Here is one of our newly made Paws & Tales t-shirts. It has the Paws & Tales logo on the front so you will never be confused and wear it backwards.

Gus the Moose: That is so clever. Did you think of that? Nice job there, Dave. It would be so great if people could just go onto pawsandtales.org and order them in various sizes and all, and get the shirt that will make going to school easy and not all backwards. It is a real problem, you know.

Dave Carl: Gus, I think you are a genius.

Captain Gus: Well then, Achan made a decision that would affect the course of his life, the lives of the other soldiers, and even the lives of his entire family. And it was all going to be for the worse. You see, in his exhaustion and while he was alone, two terrible conditions to be making big decisions in, he took the gold, he took the silver, and he took the robe for himself.

Guest (Male): I knew he would do it. What a knucklehead.

Captain Gus: I guess he was, to say the very least. Well, he took the things that he could not even show to others, things he could not sell, things that he could not even use, and he took them home. You know what he did? He buried them. Buried them in a hole in the floor of his tent.

Guest (Male): Did he get caught? I bet he was thrown in the slammer.

Captain Gus: Because Achan stole, and make no mistake here, he stole them from the Lord, God was angry. The next battle they had was this dinky little town called Ai. Nothing compared to Jericho. Well, they attacked and the army of Israel was chased off, and 36 soldiers were killed that day.

Guest (Male): What was he thinking?

Captain Gus: Joshua called the whole nation together and told them that because someone took forbidden things from Jericho, God had left them. Without God's protection, they were in danger of being wiped out entirely by the armies of Canaan. All the while, Achan just stood there. He said nothing. He never did repent. He just got caught and then he said sorry. He never understood how serious his sin was until the people of Israel surrounded him and threw stones at him until he died.

Guest (Male): Killed? Wow.

Insight for Living: Well, Marsha was the last one in the library, all tired and alone. She stood there holding that beautiful doll with the golden hair. She was being tempted something fierce, and she felt her heart ache for the want of it. All she needed to do was to put that doll in the glass case and swing that door closed until it locked, and then she would have been fine.

Marsha: Tiffany has dolls she cannot even remember. She does not even know your name. Well, if she will not give you the love you deserve, then I will. You are coming home with me, and I will call you Goldie. We will be together.

Captain Gus: You know, the interesting thing about the story of Achan is that if he had just resisted the temptation to steal, in just a few days, he would have been allowed and even encouraged to take the gold and silver and to keep it or to use it or to sell it.

Guest (Male): How?

Captain Gus: God told them that after they defeated the city of Ai, they could take anything they wanted from there. You see, God wanted to bless the army of Israel with all kinds of things. But Achan sinned and he cut himself off from the blessings that were on their way. If the Lord does not want you to have something, it is for a good reason, and you would be a fool to try to get it for yourself. The point is, wait for God's blessings. Oh, look at that. Storm is coming, boys. It is going to be a big one, I expect.

Insight for Living: Well, the next morning, the club was all rambling into another day of school. This was Friday, the day of Marsha's Bring Food and See the World Night. Gus was right about that storm. It was moving in and it looked to be a wild one. Everyone was worried about it.

If the storm came in before the event started, no one would come and it would be a total failure. And that was just one of the things Marsha was worrying about. The boys, on the other hand, had little on their minds but Achan, and they told the whole story to the girls on the way to school.

Guest (Male): So he was doing this really great thing for God and he messed it all up. Even after all that, Achan never really repented.

Guest (Male): He got caught and he never knew how serious his stealing was until...

Guest (Female): Until what?

Guest (Male): Until they threw stones at him until he died.

Guest (Female): No.

Guest (Male): Yes. Him, his whole family, and everything he owned.

Guest (Male): They were stoned because of his sin? How awful. That is unbelievable.

Marsha: I cannot stand it. I cannot stand it.

Guest (Male): It is sad, but it was thousands of years ago, Marsha.

Marsha: No! A doll! I do not get it. That is one of Tiffany's dolls. I stole it.

Guest (Male): No. You stole from Tiffany? This does not bode well.

Guest (Male): Why? Why did you steal it?

Marsha: I do not know. I wanted it so bad, and Tiffany does not care about her. The minute I stole her, I knew I was in big trouble and I did not know what to do. Tiffany let me use her dolls to collect food for the needy and I stole from her, and I think I might have messed up the whole thing.

Guest (Male): Wow. She is Achan. She is just like Achan.

Marsha: I am Achan. I am just like Achan.

Guest (Male): Like Achan? Wow. Double wow. But I do not want to stone Marsha. I do not want to stone you.

Guest (Male): Gus, calm down. Knock it off. No one is going to stone anyone. Once again, I stand amazed at the sheer silliness of it all.

Marsha: Well, what am I going to do?

Guest (Male): Well, you are going to have to go to Tiffany and tell her the truth and take your lumps.

Marsha: Oh, I have suffered enough already.

Guest (Male): It does not matter if you have suffered or not. You just have to go and make this right.

Marsha: How about we just quietly put the doll back? Marsha is sorry. No one needs to know.

Marsha: I cannot put it back. The display case is locked. I locked it.

Guest (Male): Can I have your attention, please? For crying out loud, Achan!

Guest (Male): Achan what? What about Achan?

Guest (Male): He messed up by stealing, but then he messed up again by not coming forward with it. He messed up by not repenting.

Guest (Male): Nicely done.

Guest (Male): Thank you for noticing. You have got to repent to God and then to Tiffany.

Guest (Male): And we will go with you.

Guest (Female): Yes, we will. We will be right there.

Marsha: Really?

Guest (Female): Yeah, really. Let us try and catch Tiffany before she leaves the hotel.

Insight for Living: So the raggedy bunch scooted over to the hotel where Tiffany was living while the Rockler mansion was being built. Sure enough, just as they were going in the front door, out came Tiffany.

Tiffany Rockler: What is going on? You scared me half to death. What do you rabble want here? We have Marsha. Marsha, come on.

Marsha: Yes, I have something. I am scared and I am ashamed. I am ashamed and scared.

Guest (Male): You can do it. We are here with you. Go on.

Marsha: Tiffany, what is it? I stole one of your dolls. Here.

Tiffany Rockler: You stole one of my dolls? You stole this doll?

Marsha: Yes, I am so sorry. I just kind of went out of my head and I...

Tiffany Rockler: You steal a doll from me and this is the one you pick? Have you no taste whatsoever? There are dolls in this collection that are worth hundreds of dollars, and you pick this one?

Guest (Male): Tiffany, you are a very complicated person.

Marsha: What are you going to do?

Tiffany Rockler: I am going to think of the worst possible thing I can to punish you.

Guest (Male): Look at her, Tiffany. She is sorry. You should just go easy on her.

Tiffany Rockler: Pumpkin, all of you. The worst punishment I can think of... yes, I have got it. I will tell everyone about your tragically poor taste.

Guest (Male): That is your punishment?

Marsha: Sorry, I mean, that is just cruel, Tiffany.

Tiffany Rockler: William, I am late for school. Please get the limousine.

William: Sorry, miss, but the limousine is for business purposes only. I understand there have been some abuses in the past.

Tiffany Rockler: I will just walk then. Are you happy? Simpleton! Everyone's out to stop me!

Guest (Male): That was it?

Guest (Male): That is way better than being stoned.

Guest (Male): That girl gives me a headache.

Guest (Male): I cannot believe it. No jail, no being arrested.

Guest (Male): She is just going to tell everyone that you have bad taste? I would say God just protected you, Marsha.

Marsha: I know. He really did. Wow, guys, look at the sky. The storm is coming.

Guest (Male): Oh, it is going to ruin the event tonight. All of our hard work for nothing. Let us get to school. We are going to be late.

Victory: Hi, I am Victory from Georgia. Do not go away. There is more Paws & Tales coming right up.

Dave Carl: Hello, Dave Carl here. Where does your kid listen to Paws & Tales? We would love to know. You can upload a photo of your kids listening to Paws & Tales in the car, half-buried in pillows while coloring or doing a puzzle. So many ways to listen. We will be posting a bunch of these photos on pawsandtales.org. Just think, your kid's photo could be on the wall of the clubhouse in Wildwood.

Insight for Living: Well, no one could explain it, but that storm just stopped moving. It did not go away, mind you, but it just stopped a ways out at sea like it was waiting for something. The event started right on time and folks came from all over Wildwood to see the dolls and artifacts. And with them, they brought food and blankets, lots and lots of food and blankets for the needy.

Marsha: Tiffany, this is unbelievable.

Tiffany Rockler: I know. I cannot believe it myself.

Guest (Male): We are running out of places to store up the food. We got cans stacked up almost to the ceiling back there, and there are bags and bags of dried beans. You should see the stack of blankets folks have brought in. Marsha, this is a miracle. No one thought it could happen.

Tiffany Rockler: Marsha thought it could. She knew all along. I will be right back.

Guest (Male): Could I have your attention, please? Wow, is this a great night. Glad you all got here before the storm did. If you have not made it over to the very back yet, make sure you do. There is an amazing collection of Roman weapons and artifacts. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Collins for sharing these things with us all.

Then there are the dolls of the world. Coming through! Wide load. Sorry. Goose, what's with the blankets? Be right back. Sorry again. Then there are the dolls of the world that we have all heard so much of. Thank you, Tiffany Rockler.

Although folks are still bringing in more food and blankets, it is safe to say that there has never been such an outpouring for the needy of this town. Goose, you are tracking in mud.

Gus the Moose: Oh, sorry. Sorry. Why, it is raining outside. I will wipe it up. Just act like I am not here.

Guest (Female): If only we could.

Guest (Male): Never been such an outpouring for the needy. All of this because one little moose girl had a burden for the needy. Marsha Moffit, come up here. Marsha wanted to help the needy in our town.

Gus the Moose: Ouch! Goose, you are causing a scene. What are you doing?

Gus the Moose: Sorry. Do not mind me.

Guest (Male): Well, anyway, we all heard about Marsha's plan and mostly we all patted her on the head. I told her that it was a sweet thought, but there was nothing that could be done. She, however, had a sense that God wanted to move in our town, and she wanted to be a part of it. All of this because of the faith of a little girl. Marsha, we thank you, and the needy of Wildwood will be thanking you all winter long.

Insight for Living: Well, the storm is here.

Guest (Male): That's quite a storm. All right, get comfortable, everyone. Looks like we may all be here for a while.

Tiffany Rockler: Papa Chuck, may I?

Guest (Male): Sure, Tiffany. Come on up.

Tiffany Rockler: I have just informed the kitchen staff that they are to prepare more food while we wait out the storm. Marsha, why do not you tell us how you are going to disperse all of the food and blankets you have collected?

Marsha: Disperse?

Guest (Male): How will you give it all away? How do you know who gets it?

Marsha: Oh, well, I do not know. I just, well, I was only thinking about collecting food and blankets. I...

Guest (Male): So there is no plan? There is nothing set up?

Tiffany Rockler: Pinky Gungoostler! You are interrupting. We have a very nice event here to collect food for the needy and you keep... what are you doing?

Gus the Moose: Sorry to interrupt. I, well, I did not mean to. Sorry. I am just giving some blankets and some food to folks outside who are cold and hungry.

Tiffany Rockler: Could you wait for a more appropriate moment?

Gus the Moose: There are needy folks out there. Yeah, it is raining, it is cold. We have got stuff in here, so I just thought...

Guest (Male): Good job, Goose. Now those folks are cold and hungry right now and look at us. We are in here too busy to help them. All right, I have got a plan. Let us get some of those cans of food open and we will heat them up.

Guest (Male): Heat them up where?

Guest (Male): How about the President's Club kitchen?

Tiffany Rockler: I hardly think that is appropriate.

Guest (Male): All right, let us start now. Some of you fellows come with me and we will go spread the news that there is hot food and blankets at the new library. Come on, guys. Let us get some of this food in the kitchen.

Tiffany Rockler: But this is not a soup kitchen.

Guest (Male): We will be in about 20 minutes tops.

Tiffany Rockler: Why not? I will tell the cooks to start cooking. I will get some more blankets down. We need something for the young ones to drink, too.

Marsha: Oh, would you just look at that. Everybody is pitching in.

Guest (Male): Captain Gus.

Tiffany Rockler: Tiffany. I must admit that this outpouring for the needy is very moving. So I have decided to donate my doll collection. Captain Gus, you can tell them out there that every little girl in Wildwood can come and pick out one of my dolls to keep.

Guest (Male): Tiffany, that is unbelievable.

Tiffany Rockler: Consider it done. Why do not we start with the girls who helped with the event this evening? Let us open the cabinets and you can pick out a doll right now.

Marsha: That is so amazing. Every little girl but you, the little thief with bad taste. Oh well, it is still amazing.

Insight for Living: There was a lot that happened that night. That was the beginning of the weekly President's Club soup kitchen sponsored by the mayor and the downtown storekeepers. It was the beginning of folks from the church making friends with those who would have never gone to church. It was also just the beginning of Marsha doing things that no one believed were possible.

Guest (Female): That was a great night, Marsha.

Marsha: Yeah, it really was.

Guest (Female): How do you like your new doll?

Marsha: Well, kind of a lot.

Guest (Female): It is okay. You can love your doll. It is okay.

Marsha: I love her. If I had not stolen that doll, Tiffany would have given her to me. If only I had waited. I was thinking the same thing. I am just like Achan.

Guest (Female): No, not really. You made it right. God blessed you and everyone who came tonight, not to mention all the folks that will be fed and cared for in the future. You are not like Achan, not anymore.

Marsha: Thanks. I need to go home and sleep for about a week.

Guest (Female): Me too. Let us find your mom and go home.

Marsha: No, I am too tired for that. Let us just find my mom and go home.

Guest (Female): That is an even better idea. Come on, Marsha. One foot in front of the other.

Insight for Living: To order a copy of today's program, "I’m Achan All Over," just log on to pawsandtales.org. "I’m Achan All Over" was written by David Carl. Music was by Tim Hosman, and our sound designer was Eric Bazel. Paws & Tales is an Insight for Living production.