Book Review Blog
God’s Power In Me: 52 Declarations and Devotions For Kids
God’s Power In Me: 52 Declarations and Devotions for Kids Margaret Feinberg After over two decades serving in children’s and family ministries and almost two decades of parenting, I have amassed a considerable collection of devotionals for children and youth. Our favorites are tattered, dog eared, and smeared with vestiges of PBandJs. I am always…
Read MoreThe Sacred Pulse
The Sacred Pulse April Fiet Confession: everyday life runs past me at breakneck speed, leaving me feeling like I’ve experienced whiplash at different moments throughout the day. When The Sacred Pulse; Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls landed on my doorstep, I heaved a grateful sigh and eagerly dived into this book. Who couldn’t use some…
Read MoreBaptized in the Water: Becoming a Member of God’s Family
Written by Glenys Nellist; Illustrated by Anna Kazimi Nothing brightens up a raw, grey, snowy April day more than the UPS truck rattling down our dusty driveway to drop off a new book from the publisher. My six year old, Celia, and I gleefully snatched up the copy of Baptized by the Water by Glenys…
Read MoreA Faith of Their Own: A Theological Field Guide for Youth Ministry
In my work, I hear about the exodus of the youth, about how churches just cannot get them to come in the doors and stay, and how congregations are stymied when they hear that our youth just do not find church relevant. I have read many resources that discuss how to make faith stick, how…
Read More2020s Foresight: Three Vital Practices For Thriving In a Decade of Accelerating Change
Tom Sine and Dwight Friesen After two years in pandemic life, I find that I am constantly evaluating and re-evaluating everyday decisions in response to all I have experienced and learned. I have witnessed the beauty of people coming together to take care of each other and I have dealt with the behaviors of those…
Read MoreNew Directions for Holy Questions; Progressive Christian Theology for Families
Pandemic life has greatly assisted us in distilling what is most important in our lives. In my work in children’s and family ministries and as a parent of 7, I have found that families with children have had to pare down to what matters the most in our days. Families are making time for connection,…
Read MoreBe The Brave One
Be The Brave One Rev. Ann Kansfeld Just like everyone in this world, I found myself walking many tightropes through the pandemic, critically discerning what was important and how to make sure those were made the priority. I have always been focused on clarifying what matters in my life and preserving time and energy for…
Read MoreLifelong Faith
I have long been a fan of John Roberto’s work and have a shelf full of his resources that I have dog-eared and continue to pull out with great frequency. I had my eye on his new release, Lifelong Faith; Formation for All Ages and Generations and was waiting for when money appeared in our…
Read MoreCreative Ideas for Worship With All Abilities
I wear several hats in my everyday life; mother of many children, sister of a woman with Down Syndrome, a children’s minister, and a special educator. Creative Ideas for Worship With All Abilities is a resource that I will keep on my closest bookshelf in my office because it provides me with a wide range…
Read MoreThe Silence of Calvary: A Book Review
Are you looking for a resource for the adults in your congregation that has flexibility in use throughout Lent into Holy Week? The Silence of Calvary: Meditations on Good Friday should find a way onto your list. Church Publishing Incorporated provided us with this review copy, and I am glad to have it come across…
Read MoreSir Drake The Brave: A Book Review
Sir Drake The Brave is a new children’s book from Moorehouse Publishing. We were provided with an advanced reader copy and it has spurred lots of ideas for use in children’s and family ministries! The story revolves around a young child named Drake, who is wrestling with the treatment of bullies and bedtime fears. He…
Read MoreWonder Awaits! A Book Review
Wonder Awaits! is a new release from Chalice Press. We were provided with a review copy and my children and I are all glad it came across my desk! Wonder Awaits! invites families to wonder together. It features photographs of children in their communities, along with prompts that help people discover together how to go…
Read MoreFaithful Families for Lent, Easter, and Resurrection: A Book Review
By Elizabeth Christie Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, and Resurrection by Traci Smith is the latest addition to Rev. Smith’s fabulous collection of resources for families and family ministers. As pandemic life closes in on two years of upheaval and uncertainty for families, weariness is running high. I hear daily how parents are craving simplicity,…
Read MoreI Wonder: Exploring God’s Grand Story: A Book Review
By Elizabeth Christie When I call out to my family to grab a Bible, they always respond with a half sarcastic/half serious, “WHICH ONE?!” Suffice it to say, we have several shelves full of Bibles of various translations. This should be expected in the home of a librarian and a person who works in children’s…
Read MoreInvite Resources – A New Christian Publishing House
On November 9, 2020, Invite Press, the official imprint of Invite Resources, published its first book, Everything Is Gonna Be All Right by Robert Hasley, a collection of the author’s life experiences and short devotional messages of comfort and encouragement. Invite Resources is a ministry of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, where…
Read MoreJust Begin: A Sourcebook of Spiritual Practices
It’s the nature of most believers to seek a means of communing with their Creator. However, there are so many choices, where does one begin? Just Begin: A Sourcebook of Spiritual Practices, Dann E. Wigner’s collection of 40 different spiritual practices from both Eastern and Western traditions, is a good place to start. In this…
Read MoreThe Black Friend
Frederick Joseph begins his story in The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person sharing his memories of growing up being the only black kid in a white neighborhood. The white kids in his school called him an “oreo” (black on the outside, white on the inside) which was only one of the many…
Read MoreContemplative Knitting
Let’s be honest — I love to knit; I also love to quilt, papercraft, read books, and cook. I have a husband, children, and grandchildren, so that is 13 handmade gifts that I should make every year. All this fills my days and sometimes it overfills them. Sometimes I get so busy doing “things” that…
Read MoreA Little Blue Bottle
A Little Blue Bottle, published by Church Publishing, Inc., is a children’s picture book on the topics of loss, grief, death, and faith. The sensitive words of Jennifer Grant and vivid illustrations of Gillian Whiting pair together to tell the story of a child who is expressing her feelings of loss when an elderly neighbor…
Read MoreFaces
During the pandemic, we missed many things, some of which we previously took for granted. It wasn’t until wearing a face mask became the norm, that we realized how strange it was not to see the faces of those around us. For those longing to see faces with their wonderful diversity, Roger Hutchison’s Faces: A…
Read MoreBreathe
When I heard that Paraclete Press was publishing another book by Laura Alary, I was excited! I loved her previous books Make Room: A Child’s Guide for Lent and Easter and Look! A Child’s Guide to Advent and Christmas. They stand head and shoulders above other children’s books on those topics, combining explanations of the…
Read MoreMaking Room for Everyone
The subtitle for the book Making Room for Everyone is “More Stories for Building a Children’s Chapel.” It follows author Bill Gordh’s book, Building a Children’s Chapel: One Story at a Time, and both books include information on creating a children’s chapel, storytelling tips, and song suggestions which support the story themes. Whereas the first…
Read MoreSilence
The pandemic has been traumatic for many of us, including our children. As we look for ways to help children cope with their anxiety and loss of structure, there has been a surge of interest in spirituality and mindful practices. A recently released book from Church Publishing, Silence by Jerome W. Berryman, is a wonderful…
Read MoreWe Shall Be Changed
In March 2020, as the country shut down due to the pandemic, church leaders were asking questions. How could they continue to worship without meeting in person? Could sacraments like Holy Communion and Baptism be celebrated virtually? Would the business of the church be able to continue without face-to-face meetings? Would they survive financially without…
Read MoreOn Earth as It Is in Heaven
On Earth as It Is in Heaven by Eric Atcheson, published by Church Publishing, equips clergy and laypeople with a faith-based toolkit for economic justice and offers a resource to examine the economic disparities in our communities. The title is a familiar phrase to those who recite the Lord’s Prayer as preached by Jesus in…
Read MoreFinding Home
Julie K. Aageson, author of Finding Home, drew me in right from the introduction: “When my children were growing up, we often talked with them about how important it is to be ‘at home’ in many different places.” Isn’t that what most of us crave — finding home or finding a home? I believe this…
Read MoreWe Gather at This Table
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also…
Read MoreBlessed to Bless
It’s true that many people own a Bible; it’s also true that many of them have not read it. Blessed to Bless by Tim Sean Youmans, originally written with 5th to 8th graders in mind, is the perfect, reader-friendly guide to what’s in those 66 books of the Bible. Starting with the story of Creation…
Read MoreToday Is a Baptism Day
Today Is a Baptism Day from Church Publishing Inc. is a perfect gift for families preparing for the day of baptism. The illustrations immediately drew me into the text with large, artistic, colorful pictures depicting a diverse community of faith. The author, Anna V. Ostenso Moore, introduces the meaning of baptism in a vocabulary that…
Read MoreThe Very Best Day
n 2018, the Episcopal Church invited its people to practice the Way of Love. Reminiscent of one of the names which referred to the first century Church (the Way), the Way of Love is a way of life, a commitment to follow Jesus by using seven principles: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest.…
Read More