Book reviews

Drawing God

Drawing God

One of my favorite responses to certain theological questions was from someone who said, “How can anyone know that?” If religious people are honest, they accept that there are many unanswered questions about God and the spiritual realm. A delightful and beautifully...

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Family Faith Formation Resources from Faith Alive

Family Faith Formation Resources from Faith Alive

When I do in-person Sunday school teacher training (becoming rarer and rarer these days), I like to share a white rope of 168 inches which has one inch colored in black. I ask people if they know what the 168 inches represents. Usually they don’t, so I explain that...

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Building Faith Brick by Brick II

Building Faith Brick by Brick II

If you’re looking for something different for Sunday school, other church programs, or even family faith formation at home, consider Legos. The book Building Faith Brick by Brick II  written by Emily Slichter Given provides all the information you’ll need....

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I Am God’s Storyteller

I Am God’s Storyteller

I was immediately drawn to the title of a children’s picture book recently published by Paraclete Press: I Am God’s Storyteller written by Lisa M. Hendey with colorful and cheerful illustrations by Eric Carlson. In my work with those in children’s ministry, I often...

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Beating Guns

Beating Guns

Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence is not just a book; it’s a movement. Authors Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin recently conducted a thirty-seven-city Beating Guns Tour, literally hammering guns into garden tools at each stop, alluding to...

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The Dog in the Dentist Chair

The Dog in the Dentist Chair

Let’s face it – kids and animals have a special affinity and watching them interact brings smiles to adult faces. While pets, usually dogs and cats, provide love and companionship, there is a special class of animals who go above and beyond that. These are service...

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Retreats to Go

Retreats to Go

A well planned retreat is a great gift to give your congregation or other spiritual friends. Anyone who has taken the opportunity offered by a retreat to get away and spend some time with God and their own spirit knows the value of retreats. But planning a good...

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Candle Walk: A Bedtime Prayer to God

Candle Walk: A Bedtime Prayer to God

Children love repetition and ritual and at no time is that more important than at bedtime. Little ones need a calming routine to help them transition from the excitement of the day to a time of rest and quiet. For Christian parents, a bedtime routine usually includes...

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Paul and His Friends

Paul and His Friends

I love the children’s book The Day When God Made Church which tells the story of Pentecost, so when a review copy of another book by author Rebekah McLeod Hutto came across my desk, I read it with interest. It did not disappoint. The book is Paul and His Friends: A...

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Coloring Women of the Bible

Coloring Women of the Bible

Until a few years ago, coloring was for kids. Then adults discovered that it was a wonderful, meditative spiritual practice which required little preparation or equipment. Now there has been a profusion of adult coloring books featuring everything from animals to...

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