Sparking Everyday Discipleship

In this BONUS episode we explore study Bibles for older children and adults with Pastor Dave Brown. Books Discussed in This Episode: Transcript: Terrie: Welcome to Books to Spark, a podcast for parents and caregivers, celebrating books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion, leading to teachable moments with our kids. I'd like to introduce you to our guest today. His name is Pastor Dave Brown. He is my husband, and he has been a pastor in the ministry for over 35 years, 15 of those years, he was a missionary pastor in Taipei, Taiwan. He has a website called Finding God and speaks regularly about prayer, our search for God, and seeking after God's heart with all of our hearts. We're going to be talking about study Bibles today. As your children get older, you may want to get them a really good study Bible. We have several that we like, and we have four kids and got them all different study Bibles. And so, we have a lot to share with you today about Bible resources and study Bibles. Let's just dive right in. What is your favorite study Bible? Dave: Actually, my favorite study Bible is the Life Application Study Bible. And I like it because I can access it on my phone or my iPad through Tecarta Bible. I'm able to access that and I have access to just about everything they've got, which I love. And the reason I like it is because you have your scripture text in the translation. New Living Translation is what the standard Life Application comes in. And the other thing I like about it is the resources are always there right around the place that you're reading. So when you're reading about a particular place, you know, maybe the first missionary journey of Paul you'll have a map that actually shows that missionary journey right there, where you're reading, instead of having to dig to the back of the, of the book to find the map, you actually have it right where you need it. And so, I love that and they, they even have that same function in the online version or the cell phone version. Should you decide to go that route? So that's my favorite. Terrie: Yeah. I liked that one too, because they also have a timeline, and I'm always needing a timeline to keep track of the order of the history of things. And, you know, the Jewish Bible was not really linear. And so, it helps me to see a timeline and keep all the stories in the right chronological order in my mind. And then the other thing I like about the Life Application Study Bible is it has character studies of the different characters in the Bible and talks about their strong qualities and their weaknesses, and the synopsis of each book is also really good in the Life Application Bible. And, of course, the whole point of the Life Application Study Bible is life application, to challenge our kids and ourselves as we're being discipled and discipling to apply the word of God to our lives day by day. That's what we're after anyway. So, I think, practically speaking, the New Living Translation is easy to understand. It's easy to teach, it's easy to learn. And then you have the life application part of that, as well as a lot of background information, the maps, the timeline, the character studies, and also they often put in parallel scriptures and Old Testament compared to New Testament on the same subject and stuff like that. It's really a beneficial study Bible. I really like it too. My other favorite one is the Master Study Bible, and I have used it so much that mine has fallen apart. The cover is no longer with us, but the Master Study Bible is typically the New American Standard Bible. And so, I do like that. Like I said before, I like to do my word studies in the New American Standard, but it has a Bible Encyclopedia as part of the study Bible. And so that's really awesome when you first start studying the Bible to have a concordance and an encyclopedia right there with your Bible where you can go and look up words and try to understand what you're reading and what the story is all about is just excellent. And I first got this when I very first started discipling other people. My mom bought this for me, and I have just used it and worn it out like crazy, but it's an excellent one for your high school and older kids. I think the Master Study Bible is phenomenal. Dave: I'd like to also mention my other favorite, which, and Terrie mentioned the Master Study Bible. This is a pretty old study Bible. This is one of the study Bibles that was popular maybe in the 1970s and 1980s. And another one that was really popular back then was the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. And I had one of those. I still do have it. It's in my office. And I absolutely love it. What I loved about that is it, it has just umpteen number of resources. You know, some of its archaeological resources, they have character studies and word studies and all of these different things. When you pick up the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, half of the Bible is all these other resources, wh

In this episode we explore different Bible translations and which ones are best for children at different ages. Pastor Dave Brown is our guest on this episode. Books discussed in this episode: Our favorite Bible for children over all is the ERV (Easy-to-Read Version) of the Bible. Second choice for children is NLT (New Living Translation) and, third is ICB (International Children's Version). Transcript: Terrie: Welcome to books, the spark, a podcast for parents and caregivers, celebrating books, that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion, leading to teachable moments with our kids. I'd like to introduce you to our guest today. His name is pastor Dave Brown. He is my husband, and he has been a pastor in the ministry for over 35 years, 15 of those years, he was a missionary pastor in Taipei, Taiwan. He has a website called finding God and speaks regularly about prayer, our search for God and seeking after God's heart. With all of our hearts. I asked him to join me today because we're going to be talking about what is the best Bible to use with your kids. And we're going to be discussing the different types of Bibles and what's best for each age group. Welcome Dave. First. I have three points that I want to share personally. When choosing a Bible, when I became a Christian, I was seven years old and my mom's best friend gave me a Bible. Of course, it was King James version because that's really all we had back then. I would try to read it as I got a little older, I would try to read it, and I didn't understand any of it. And so, I prayed and asked God to help me understand what I was reading, and the very next day when I got up and read my Bible, all of the sudden I understood it. So the first thing I want to mention is we don't want to discount prayer when we're using the Bible with our kids, the Holy Spirit can help them understand what they're reading and can make the Bible come alive to them and open up God's word to them. So that part is, is imperative that we pray first and let the Holy Spirit work. But I think then we can choose wisely and make the best choices for our kids. The second point I want to make is the Bible definitely has some PG and even R-rated sections. How would you suggest handling that with your kids? Dave: Well, that's a good question. I keep thinking about how VeggieTales did it, if you notice they dealt with some of those subjects and they kind of told the story without necessarily sharing the PG or R-rated content while still managing to get the point across. And so, I thought that was very well done. And I think having the right translation can help there are children's translations that do that. Terrie: Yes, there are in some don't talk about, they just talk about how well, especially with Bible story books, Bible story books, sometimes talk about how Adam and Eve had a baby and they don't talk about how Adam and Eve got the baby. And then there's others that talk about them having relations or whatever. So, so you can pick and choose and choose wisely for the age of your child. The third thing is: Please get a translation and not a paraphrase. A paraphrase is almost like having a commentary or a storybook. It's not the real Bible. It's not the full translation and they're fun to read. Sometimes I enjoy reading the message sometimes, but I wouldn't use it as a gift for a child or an adult. And I wouldn't certainly use it for Bible study. When you have a paraphrase, it's limited in its scope. It's related to what the person interpreted it as. Do you have any comments on that? Dave: It is it is exactly that probably the most famous paraphrase would be the living Bible. And the living Bible was written by a man who wanted to give a Bible to his daughter that he thought she could understand. And so basically, he went verse by verse and then interpreted it. A paraphrase is good for reading, but it's not. If you're wanting to study the Bible, it's not the best way to go. Terrie: So, I want to go over some of the main and most respected translations that are available. And we're just dealing with the English Bible today. If you speak a different language and have questions about that, please post a comment and we'll be happy to try to answer that question for you. We know about Spanish and Chinese Bibles. We don't know about all the others, but we have experience with Spanish and Chinese, but we're just going to talk about the English translations today. And of course, the most famous English translation is probably the King James version. What do you think of the King James version? Dave: The King James version, two issues I have with the King James one is that it was written in English. That's 400 years old or older, and they spoke different back then. It was wonderful for that time. But it's not how we understand English today. And for the average person, especially a young child, who's trying to understand God's word. It's not the best choice because the language pos

In this episode my husband Pastor Dave Brown and I discuss choosing Bible Story Books. Books Recommended in This Episode: Transcript: Terrie: Welcome to Books that Spark a podcast for parents and caregivers, celebrating books, that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion, leading to teachable moments with our kids. I'd like to introduce you to our guest today. His name is pastor Dave Brown. He is my husband, and he has been a pastor in the ministry for over 35 years, 15 of those years, he was a missionary pastor in Taipei, Taiwan. He has a website called Finding God and speaks regularly about prayer, our search for God, and seeking after God's heart with all of our hearts. And we're going to talk to you today about Bible story books for your kids. Dave, thank you for joining us today. Dave: Thank you. Terrie: When we're looking for Bible storybooks for our kids, there are about five things that I consider. We want to check the publisher or the source. Some of the publishers I highly recommend for Bible storybooks are B and H Kids, which is a part of Lifeway, David C. Cook, Zondervan or Zonderkidz, and Beaming Books. Those are four good resources. Check that the stories are true to the Bible that they stick with, what the Bible says, and don't take too many liberties or a poetic license, and you can do that by looking at the pictures as well. And that brings me to number three— Make sure the pictures are pretty and are interesting and are going to keep a child's attention because the little kids are going to look at that book over and over again because of the pictures. Think of the developmental age of your child. That's always the case with any book we buy, but we also need to consider that with our Bible storybooks. And you need to think about whether you want them to read it by themselves or with you. And so you think of those kinds of things. And that goes to number five— Consider the size and shape of the book. If you're going to be reading it together as a family or reading it before bedtime together, then you want possibly to have a bigger book that you can share. Some of the Bible books are bigger in size than others are like a paperback novel and are small. And so they're just for someone who's reading on their, then the last one is-- The educational element. Do you want one that has questions for discussion at the end of the story? Do you want extra facts added in sidebars or bubbles or whatever to make it more fun? Do you want it to be very straightforward? A very simple five minute devotional type of one to two pages, long story. So, look at the educational elements, look at the way it's formatted to see if it fits your needs exactly. First, I want to ask you why is it important for us to read Bible stories? Dave: Well, Bible story is, especially when you're really young help capture your imagination. And I remember as a child, you know, my grandmother used to read Bible stories to me and it stuck with me and my parents always had a Bible story book in my bookshelf. So on rainy days, that was a book that I commonly pulled out and led to read stories about David and Goliath and Daniel and the lion's den and many others that let, I just loved reading about and that spoke about God. So, they're really good for little kids who can't sit down and actually read through a Bible and get something every time. Definitely a good way to start. Terrie: I know you were not raised in technically a Christian home. So how did having that Bible story book affect your coming to Christ? Dave: Even though I grew up in a home where we didn't go to church and we weren't Christians, my parents would have told me that we were Christians and we went to church once a year. We were one of those kinds of people. So there was always this essence that we believed in God, but we didn't know anything about him. And you know, reading the Bible stories helped me to actually know something about the Bible in a way that I was able to sit down and actually have a motivation to read something. You know, we as kill it as kids, we love reading stories of heroes and people who defied the odds and different things like that. Like David and Daniel and others, Samson, and, you know, those kinds of stories captured my attention and I loved reading them. And they were written in such a way that, you know, that it was, it was in a story format. So I absolutely enjoyed that. And I spent most of my life reading those and I believe God used those moments for the time when I finally did come to Christ to kind of give a foundation and push me in the right direction, because I had that basis of knowing these stories and these you know, these events that actually happened in history. Terrie: Yeah, the same for me, my grandfather, well, I was raised in a Christian home. My dad was a deacon, and we went to church every Sunday from the time I was born. But my grandfather had a whole set of records that told Bible stories and it had sound

In this episode we take a break from the seriousness of life and laugh at some fun and humorous books. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength." (Proverbs 17:22, NLT) Books recommended in this episode: Transcript:Welcome to Books that Spark, a podcast for parents and caregivers where we review books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and conversations leading to teachable moments with our kids. Today, with all the seriousness of our times and the stress people are under with school changes, illness, finances, and the whole political arena, I want to talk about the importance of laughter and play for our children. We are very blessed in the kid lit marketplace to have some great books that can make us laugh together. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 17:22, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength." (NLT) And we certainly can feel that sometimes, that we just don't have as much energy as we usually do because we are burdened by what's going on in our lives. Play is important work for a child. Laughing is excellent for a child's spiritual and emotional well-being, but it also stretches their lungs and helps them feel better physically as well. So, having fun together and laughing together is not only fun, it's excellent for your child's well-being. Learning humor helps a child understand culture. We lived overseas, and I always found it interesting what each culture finds humorous. I also found out how we can offend others with our humor cross-culturally…and that's a very important lesson to learn quickly when you go to another culture! Plus, it is very important for children to develop the ability to laugh at themselves. Once they cross that threshold, they will find it easier to have and keep friends and to be happier in social situations. Think back to your childhood, most likely some of your favorite memories were when you were laughing and having fun with your family. Sharing humorous books with your children can create some fun memories with the whole family. It's healthy and good for you and your kids to do this together besides making memories, and it helps your child to develop in his understanding of cultural and social interactions. So, there are a lot of benefits of reading funny stories together besides it just being fun and a nice break. I'm sharing with you some of my favorite silly books today, but there are so many available. The main warning that I will give you is to read a book before you share it. I found some books that say they are funny to either be empty, not really have a story to them, and not very funny at all, but more strange than funny. And I found some to have humor I found inappropriate, although I know some kids enjoy that more. In addition, be aware that very young children will have trouble understanding sarcasm. We have to with any books we're reading think about our child's developmental age and what they'll be able to process. So, we should always look at the book before we read them to our children. We all should know the story of The Three Little Pigs. But have you heard the story from the Wolf's perspective? It's an old book called The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf as told to John Scieszka and illustrated Lane Smith. "Everybody knows the story of the three little pigs, or at least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story because nobody has ever heard my side of the story. I'm the wolf. Alexander T. Wolf, you can call me Al. I don't know how this whole 'big bad wolf' thing got started, but it's all wrong. Maybe it's because of our diet. Hey, it's not my fault wolves eat cute little animals like bunnies and sheep and pigs. That's just the way we are. If cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you're big and bad too." Then he tells his side of the story. The pigs are very impolite throughout the story, and the wolf has a cold, so he sneezes, and the straw house fell down killing the first pig. He didn't want to waste food, so he ate him. He goes through the rest of the story, and at the end he says, "The news reporters found out about the two pigs I had for dinner. They figured a sick guy going to borrow a cup of sugar didn't sound very exciting, so they jazzed up the story with all of that huff and puff and blow your house down. And they made me the big bad wolf. That's it. The real story. I was framed. If you haven't read this one, you should. It's a fun one. And there are quite a few different fractured fairy tales and fairy tales where they fix the fairy tales and retellings of fairy tales with a twist, that are so much fun. And some are not appropriate for some children, so do vet them ahead of time, read them ahead of time and make sure they are appropriate for your child. Some of them are truly hysterical. One of my favorites is actually a version of Hansel and Gretel which is not appropriate for certain

In this episode we have the second part of my interview with best-selling author Deb Gruelle. We celebrate her book launch of Sleepy Time Colors, her second children's book, a companion to her best-selling book Ten Little Night Stars. We discuss the benefits of reading to our children. Books Suggested in the Episode: Transcript: Terrie: Welcome to Books that Spark a podcast for parents and caregivers, where we review books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and conversations, leading to teachable moments with our kids. Today, we have the second part of my interview with author Deb Gruelle. Deb is a bestselling and award-winning author for children and adults. She writes for children to entertain and offer them a sense of security. Yes, she's related to Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy, and she loves being a third-generation writer for children. She feels honored to share stories with children to enrich their childhood memories and writes for adults to offer them hope. A recovering technical writer, Gruelle's also authored a book on infertility for women, over 100 articles for national women's and parenting magazines, as well as storyboards for children's games. She also serves as chaplain for Inspire Christian Writers, teaches at writer's conferences, and has fun spreading her love for children's literacy at school author visits. Thank you for joining us again today, Deb, for another interview. I'm so glad you're here. Deb: It's my pleasure, Terrie. I'm so glad to be here with you today. Terrie: Well, today is an exciting day. Would you like to tell our listeners why this is such an exciting day? Deb: Today is the day my newest book comes out Sleepy Time Colors, and it's my second children's book, and it's a board book. And I am really thrilled that it is finally here. Yay! Terrie: And for anyone who goes to my website and comments on the blog, you will be entered in a drawing to possibly win a free copy of this new book, sleepy time colors. So please go by, we're having this contest open until the 15th. So, before time is up, go to my blog and just make any comment. Say, "Yay, Deb, for your new book!" or whatever, and you'll be entered in the drawing to possibly win a copy of her new book, Sleepy Time Colors. My website is terriehellardbrown.com. So, congratulations. I'm so excited for you. Deb: Thank you so much, Terrie. It's really fun. Terrie: Well, we wanted to take this time to go ahead and do a second interview and talk a little bit more about how books and reading with our children can help them with feelings of insecurity and uncertain times because we certainly are living in uncertain times right now with all that's going on in our culture. So how can reading with kids help during these times of uncertainty? Deb: I think that the first thing is that reading allows us to slow down because it's hard to read while you're walking or running or going places. And especially if parents and kids are reading together, it just allows that connection in this space of a slowdown that you can journey together into books. You can read books that are specifically for comfort, but also, you know, a book that will—I'm thinking of the little house series, those books, you get to travel in time. And, and those books are very comforting. They have problems that they encounter on the Prairie, but there's a resolution to them, a gentle resolution. And I think many of her books ended up at Christmas. So, it has this seasonal piece to it, which is also a great thing, just to be reminded what's happening to us right now is going to pass. It is not going to be here forever. And we can just spend time in books with our kids, that we can get a break from the reality that's going on and we can connect with each other. So, you know, there's picture books that you can do that with, especially if your child really enjoys the book, you're gonna help them enter into a peaceful, fun, or exciting journey together. Terrie: I've heard of some kids who grab their favorite stuffed animal and their favorite book when they need to be comforted. And that's their happy place. That book and stuffed animal, there's that comfort there? I love that. Deb: I remember just sitting and reading with my kids is very comforting to me as a, a mom too, when there are just so many things we can't control deaths in the family and, and financial worries and things like that. But you can just compartmentalize a little bit and just, that's not good to do that and not connect your life, but to not give a concern or anxiety reign over your whole life. I remember one time we were going through a period that just the anxiety was really high in our family. And we set aside a time and let's talk about that for 20 minutes a night. Anybody who wants to say anything about it can, and then we're going to focus on other things for the rest of the time so that that doesn't take over our whole life. We couldn't change the outcome that was goin

In this episode, we get to talk with Deb Gruelle about what sparked the ideas for her two board books Ten Little Night Stars and Sleepy Time Colors. Join us as we talk about the importance of a bedtime routine and what it means in a child's life. Check out Deb's website: https://debgruelle.com/ Giveaway for August 1-15: You could win a copy of Deb's newest book: Sleepy Time Colors. Comment on my blog between August 1-15, 2020 to be entered into the drawing: https://terriehellardbrown.com/blog/ Transcript: Welcome to Books that Spark, a podcast for parents and caregivers where we review books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and conversations leading to teachable moments with our kids. Today we have a special guest with us, Deb Gruelle. Deb is a bestselling and award-winning author for children and adults. She writes for children to entertain and offer them a sense of security. Yes, she's related to Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy, and she loves being a third-generation writer for children in her family. She feels honored to share stories with children to enrich their childhood memories and writes for adults to offer them hope. On August 11, 2020 Gruelle's newest children's book Sleepy Time Colors releases. A companion book to her bestselling going-to-bed and counting picture book, Ten Little Night Stars, (with over 125,00 copies sold) Sleepy Time Colors helps children feel secure enough to fall asleep while teaching them colors. A recovering technical writer, Gruelle's also authored a book on infertility for women, over 100 articles for national women's and parenting magazines, as well as storyboards for children's games. The second edition of her nonfiction book, Aching for a Child, releases later this year. She serves as chaplain for Inspire Christian Writers (inspirewriters.com). Terrie: We're so glad you're here with us today, Deb. Thank you for joining us again today. Deb: Thanks, Terrie, I'm so glad to be here. Terrie: So, first of all, I love your book Ten Little Night Stars; I've given it as gifts to a few people already. Can you tell us a little bit about your two books Ten Little Night Stars and Sleepy Time Colors? Deb: Sure! I wrote Ten Little Night Stars when my youngest son was one year old. It took a long time to get it published though. I was back in California at the time, and my father had passed away. I stepped out of my mom's busy house with my one-year-old son on my hip. We were taking a breath of air from all the work that dealing with a death involves. You know, creating the memorial service and those things in the midst of grief. I just stood looking up at the sky, thinking about how far away my dad felt. He was such a rock. He gave us such a sense of security. He had such integrity and loved the Lord. And I wondered, how I would be able to pass that sense of security on to my children? Because he wouldn't be around to do it. And so, as I held my son, I thought about that huge hole in our lives that my dad's passing had left. I wondered if I could step into those shoes in any way. And as I was thinking about that, the first star appeared in the sky. I pointed to it and said to Matthew, "Look, one little night star." He copied me and pointed to the star too. That line just kept going through my head. So, that line along with the longing to pass on a sense of the security my dad had offered was what compelled me to start writing. I started writing Ten Little Night Stars that night. I tried to sell it to a couple of places; it didn't sell, so it went into a drawer for 16 years until I was going to a writer's conference. I thought, why don't I just take pull this one out of the drawer and take this little children's book along with me? There happened to be a children's editor there for Zonderkidz, and Jillian liked it. That's how it was sold. It was definitely God's timing. Terrie: It's been a couple years since it came out. And you having Sleepy Time Colors come out this August. How long has it been in between? Deb: The first book came out in 2018, so it's about two-and-a-half years between them. Terrie: And how did Sleepy Time Colors come about? Deb: Well, this one happens to be inspired by my mom. She's the artist in our family. So colors matter to her. She is an award-winning artist, known for her paintings of warm ocean water. The artistic gene skipped my generation completely, because you wouldn't even recognize my stick figures as stick figures. (But my kids have artistic talent!) But my mom saw nuances of color everywhere, and sometimes it was hard for her to live in a family who didn't see or care as much about those colors. So it mattered to her that the family room carpet matched the linoleum in the kitchen when it was time to buy new carpet. But my dad was really practical and cared mostly about the budge. And nobody else could really see that it didn't match, except for her. It probably felt to her that she lived with a family that was color-bli

In this episode we look at the importance of helping our kids learn to listen and truly hear what people are saying. We also explore how to help them understand that we hear them and God hears them when they pray. July Giveaway: Enter the drawing by commenting below "Books that Spark," Episode 1 on my website: https://terriehellardbrown.com/books-that-spark-episode-1-expectations/ Two winners drawn on July 31, 2020: 1st prize - Praying the Scriptures for Your Children: Discover How to Pray God's Purpose for Their Lives by Jodie Berndt The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones The Jesus Storybook Bible Coloring Book for Kids: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones 2nd prize - ICB, Bedtime Devotions with Jesus Bible from Thomas Nelson Transcript:Welcome to Books that Spark, a podcast for parents and caregivers where we review books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and conversations leading to teachable moments with our kids. Thank you for joining me today. I want to remind you that our giveaway is this Thursday, July 31st so, if you haven't already, please comment so I can enter you in the giveaway. You need to download the free course Parental Guidance Requested and comment. [Simply comment on my blog on my website for the first episode of Books that Spark to be entered into the drawing] That's it! Then, you'll be entered in the drawing. We'll have two winners. First prize includes Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, The Jesus Storybook Bible, and The Jesus Storybook Bible Coloring Book. Second prize is The Bedtime Devotions with Jesus Bible. You can find more information on my blog or in the show notes below. August on Books that Spark is going to be exciting! I have two interviews with two wonderful authors debuting new books. Deb Gruelle will be my guest on August 3rd and 10th. Jennifer Grant will be my guest on August 17th. You won't want to miss hearing about their new books and the stories behind them. The last two weeks of August, my husband and I will share with you about which Bible translations and Bible story books we recommend. Be sure to check out my website for freebies and items for purchase to bless your home and church. In addition, if you sign up for my mailing list, you'll get two freebies that are only available to those on the mailing list. First is a choice of three different phoneme books you can print, and the second is a list I compiled of over 100 picture book and board books that are written from a Christian worldview or don't contradict the Christian worldview. All are books that I've vetted. They are excellent in their story and illustrations. It's a great resource for building your child's library or for knowing great books for gifts. My goal is to help equip parents, teachers, and caregivers with the ability to have materials and have resources that will help us as we're discipling and teaching our children and as we're helping them to grow in their understanding of God and His purpose for their lives. And in addition to that, I also try to speak into your life as a parent, as a teacher, and as a caregiver. Because we need to be discipled too. So that is what I try to do with my website, my podcast, and my blog is to encourage you and help equip you so that you can help equip your children. Scripture says, "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry" in James 1:19, NLT. Today I want to share some books about listening and being heard. Part of the reason I'm so passionate about reading books together that spark conversations and questions is because we need to be communicating and sharing together with our families. Our children need to know that we value our relationship with them and respect them as people. We want to hear what they have to say and what they are thinking. We want them to be heard, and we want to be heard. As a part of parenting, children need to understand the importance of hearing and of really listening to what we're teaching them. It is part of being teachable and part of becoming life-long learners. If they do not learn how to listen, they are handicapping themselves. Through hearing each other, we show respect, we learn other perspectives, we learn how to reason and use critical thinking, and we aren't puffed up by our own self-importance. Listening and truly hearing what someone is saying is a huge skill we need to help our children master. And they need to see us model it as well. The first book I want to share is a fun, very cute book called Lacey Walker, Non-Stop Talker by Christianne C. Jones and illustrated by Richard Watson. Lacey Walker is an owl who loves to talk. The book says, "Lacey Walker was quite the little talker. She liked to talk and talk and talk." Everyone throughout her day asks her to stop talking and do what she needs to do and to listen. But she just keeps talking. Then one day, horror of horror

In this episode we look at some great Family Devotions. Below I've included some additional information about how to choose a devotional book for your children and some recommendations. Remember the drawing on July 31st. Be sure to download the Parental Guidance Requested course and comment on the first episode of Books that Spark to be entered in the drawing. Bonus Information: Choosing a Devotional for Your Kids: What to Consider 1. Bible translation used Many English translations of the Bible are available, and then there are paraphrases too. For children, we usually want to go with a good translation that is easy to understand. We will be covering this in more detail on a podcast in August, but my favorite translation is the New Living Translation (NLT). The most common in Children's Bibles is the International Children's Bible (ICB), and the other one that we think is really a good translation for kids is the Easy Reader Version (ERV). Some devotionals offer choices for translations which is nice. But it is definitely something you want to consider. 2. Perspective of the writer I recommend checking out the author. Devotionals are one person's take on the verses being discussed. If the person is from a far different belief system from your own, it can be troubling. One of the most popular devotionals on the market today was originally written with "automatic writing." This is a mystical, trance-like state that many are not comfortable with and feel it is not from God. Yet, it has become very popular, and now there is a children's version. Of course, most of us are concerned with whether the writer is charismatic or non-charismatic or anti-charismatic in their theology. 3. Focus of the devotional This is one of my pet peeves. I know we want the devotional to connect with our children, but I always want to make sure the central focus is on God and not on the child. We want the child's faith and understanding of God to grow, not just read ego-boosting nice thoughts. Yes, God loves us so much and knew us before we were born. But if that's all the devotional teaches, we may want to keep shopping. Think about: Do the devotionals lead to a response of worshiping and honoring God? Do they suggest affirmations about self? Are the scriptures used in context and chosen to glorify God or the child? 4. Need of your child Some devotionals are geared toward a certain topic and are usually shorter (not a full year). If your child is dealing with fear, you may want to get one that is specific to that issue. As an adult, I loved getting Champagne for the Soul when I was going through a lot of emotional turmoil. It was just what I needed, and it was recommended by a friend who thought it would bless me during that time. 5. Time per devotional reading Most children's devotionals state clearly what age child they are written for. Some even state the time for each day's devotional such as the 3-Minute Devotional for Boys. We need to consider our children's attention spans and abilities to read so that their Quiet Time becomes a cherished time, not an obligation they need to finish. 6. Personal devotional or family devotional The devotionals I covered in this podcast are for family devotionals done together with the parents and kids. However, many devotionals are for children to read on their own. A Few Recommended Individual Devotionals for Kids:Ages 6-10 Doodle Devotions for Kids by Nancy Taylor– for your artistic child who enjoys reading. Each devotional suggests reading about one-three chapters of scripture, and children use their own Bibles. Each devotional has a drawing suggestion. It's good for both girls and boys. She also has one that is specifically for girls. 60 devotions. Indescribable by Louie Giglio – This devotional combines science and the Bible. This one is also good for boys or girls, but it only has minimal scripture for each devotional. I like that it inspires awe for God and His creation, and it would be good for a child who is resistant to reading. He also has one called How Great Is Our God along the same lines. Plus, he offers lunchbox cards that are based on each of the devotions. 100 devotions. Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado – This devotional is dated for each day of the year. Lucado uses a lot of paraphrased verses, and each devotional is based on one verse, but he does have a section for reading the Bible and talks about the importance of reading the Bible. Each day's devotion ends with a suggestion of a response to the verse and devotional thought. He also has a version that is meant to be used for family devotions. 365 devotions. Gratitude Journal and Devotional for Kids: A daily journal for kids that includes gratitude prompts, Bible verses and a prayer journal ALL IN ONE! by Jessica Lewis – The title pretty much says it all. It's mostly a journal with prompts for journaling and prayer in response to a Bible verse. I would recommend this one for a child who is a thinker and enjoys writing. I

In this episode we look at some books that spark wonder and joy in life to help our kids embrace joy, peace, and develop resilience. July Giveaway: Enter the drawing by: 1. download the 12 mini lessons of the "Parental Guidance Requested Workshop" 2. Comment below "Books that Spark," Episode 1 that you downloaded them Two winners drawn on July 31, 2020: 1st prize - Praying the Scriptures for Your Children: Discover How to Pray God's Purpose for Their Lives by Jodie Berndt The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones The Jesus Storybook Bible Coloring Book for Kids: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones 2nd prize - ICB, Bedtime Devotions with Jesus Bible from Thomas Nelson Transcript: Welcome to Books that Spark, a podcast for parents and caregivers where we review books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and conversations leading to teachable moments with our kids. Thank you for joining me today. I wanted to let you know that coming up in August, I'm really excited. I've been able to interview two wonderful authors who have books debuting in August. The first writer we're going to talk to is Deb Gruelle, and we'll be introducing her newest book coming out in August. The second one is Jennifer Grant who also has a book coming out. We are actually going to have her interview on the day that her book debuts which is August 17th, so you won't want to miss Books that Spark in August when we have two very special guests share their books with us. We had a great time talking about their books and what sparked the stories that they wrote. So be sure to join us in August when we have these interviews. Don't forget about our drawing for July. Remember our podcast comes out each Tuesday morning. And I'm so excited to tell you that if you sign up for my mailing list you get some freebies. I've created three different books of phonemes that you can download. You can choose from the three different books. One is a coloring book, and the other two are just picture books. And you can learn and practice and go through the phonemes of the English language with your children. I have a list when you sign up for free as well that is of over 100 picture books and board books that are excellent to read to your kids, really good stories with excellent illustrations that are either Christian in nature or do not go against the Christian worldview. So I was very picky, overly picky sometimes to create this list for you. I also tried to go with writers maybe you haven't heard of before. I did not include Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and I do note that in the intro on the list that those are excellent books and you can pretty much trust any of those. But the books that I did read may be books you've never heard of or writers that you've never heard of. I hope this can be beneficial for you and your family as your shopping for books in building your child's library. In addition to that, I've decided to make one of my stories available on my website. If you go to my new website, terriehellardbrown.com, you'll see that I have quite a few free things that you can download there. I'm adding new things all the time. I've developed in one of the classes I did in Parental Guidance Requested and that I teach in my workshops I have a freebie that is a passport you can download and make for your children and read different books from different countries, stories, fairy tales, and legends from different countries and learning to count in different languages and these kinds of things. So I have that resource that will be available soon on my website. I'm also developing some other materials, some cost, some are free, but those are all available on my website. Please go take a look and download what you can use. And just send me a little note. Let me know if you do use the different items with your church, with your homeschooling group or whatever, and let me know how you used it. That would mean a lot to me. Some of the things are plays, monologues, and dialogues that you can use in your church services or in your schools. My goal is to help equip parents, teachers, and caregivers with the ability to have materials and have resources that will help us as we're discipling and teaching our children and helping them to grow in their understanding of God and His purpose for their lives. And in addition to that, I also try to speak into your life as a parent, as a teacher, and as a caregiver. Because we need to be discipled too. So that is what I try to do with my website, my podcast, and my blog is to encourage you and help equip you so that you can help equip your children. I want to share with you a feel-good story that I love. This book is called My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray, illustrated by Raul Colon. This is one of those books you cherish and that you enjoy sharing again and again whether you're the parent or the child. It's such a beautiful story of a relationship between a mom a

What is "Books that Spark" all about? We review books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion creating teachable moments that lead to meaningful conversations with our children. In this episode: How do we balance seeking to do our best and seeing goals met with perfectionism and unrealistic expectations? Experts often tell us that children rise to our high expectations. When does that go from being healthy motivation to pressure causing our children to be people-pleasers or to shut down and give up? One of the keys is recognizing who our children truly are and who God intended them to be. Books Discussed: Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman Other Links: https://www.terriehellardbrown.com/ Deuteronomy 11:18-21 Enter the drawing by: 1. download the 12 mini lessons of the "Parental Guidance Requested Workshop" 2. Comment below "Books that Spark," Episode 1 that you downloaded them Two winners drawn on July 31, 2020: 1st prize - Praying the Scriptures for Your Children: Discover How to Pray God's Purpose for Their Lives by Jodie Berndt The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones The Jesus Storybook Bible Coloring Book for Kids: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones 2nd prize - ICB, Bedtime Devotions with Jesus Bible from Thomas Nelson Transcript: Transcript: Hi, and welcome to Books that Spark. I'm Terrie Hellard-Brown, your host. I'm so glad you joined us today. This is my first episode of Books that Spark, and I have a treat for you. With this first podcast, I've also opened a 12 mini-lesson course called Parental Guidance Requested with parenting tips for getting the most out of your reading and discipleship time with your kids. If you download those 12 lessons and comment on this episode that you've got them, you will be entered into a drawing for some free resources. I'll have two winners. First prize is Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, The Jesus Storybook Bible and The Storybook Bible Coloring Book. Second prize is Bedtime Devotions with Jesus Bible. So, download the episodes today and comment before the end of July, 2020, and we'll enter you in the drawing. The drawing will be held on July 31st, 2020. So, what is Books that Spark all about? It began as an idea while I was at a speaker's conference last year. I was talking about blogging and writing books, and I mentioned how I love talking about great picture books. One of the moms there begged me to create a list of the best picture books that I would recommend. Well, as I began to think and pray about that; the notion of starting a podcast kept coming to my mind. And pretty soon I couldn't shake the idea. I would think about it all the time and started developing ideas for episodes and just got really excited about the possibilities. So here I am jumping in and giving this a try. I hope you enjoy it and feel that it's beneficial to you and your family. I hope you discover some great books that maybe you hadn't heard of before as we go through the episodes in this podcast. Sometimes this will just be me sharing with you from my heart like today, and other times I'll have guests. And I have a couple authors coming next month to share with you from their hearts and share with you about their books. So, it should be a good time and good information, and I hope you enjoy it. Sometimes I will just be sharing with you some very silly, funny books because there's a lot of excellent ones out there that can make your family laugh and have a great time together. If you go to my website and sign up for my mailing list, you'll get notifications for this podcast as well as my blog. And when you do, you will be able to download for free a list of picture books and board books that I recommend to help build your child's library. There are over a hundred books on that list that you can check out and find out about through the list. (You will also get to choose from three free print-on-demand phoneme books you can make for your kids). So, if you sign up today, you can find the link in the show notes below. Then you can receive that for free. Today I want to talk about giving ourselves grace and our kids' grace. We tend to be hard on ourselves as parents wanting to be perfect in all that we do, and we can fall into the trap of perfectionism. But I've found, as a recovering perfectionist, that in reality, perfectionism is me trying to be God in my own life because we know that the only one who is truly perfect as God and our attempts at it are not truly perfect; they're perfectionism. And we can also be hard on our kids trying to encourage them to do their best, but instead putting expectations on them as well. So, we have to figure out what is the balance there. I'm a visual person, and I will never forget the most effective sermon I ever saw on expectations. It was done by Andy Stanley at North Point Community Chur

Research shows that reading aloud to children of all ages makes a difference in their lives. Books recommended for parents and teachers: Reading Picture Books with Children: How to Shake Up Story Time and Get Kids Talking about What They See by Megan Dowd Lambert Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook: Eighth Edition by Jim Trelease, Cyndi Giorgis The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie Honey for a Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys Hunt Quotes from the books shared in the class: "As a reader, a mother, and a teacher, I know that we carry picture books about with us, not just as physical objects in our hands with pages that we turn, but as remembered experiences with stories and art, and with each other. I pick up a single picture book, and I recall not only the specific story and art on its pages but also the myriad insights that it provoked through Whole Book Approach readings that invited children to read words, pictures, and design along with me." (Lambert, xii) "During Whole Book Approach story times, children's active participation in making meaning of all they see and hear during a picture book reading takes precedence over moving through the pages at the pace of the adult's oral reading of the text…the Whole Book Approach simply stresses inviting children to react to the whole book—its art, design, production, paratextual and textual elements—in ways that feel natural and enriching to them and to you as the adult reader." (Lambert, x) "Children can read pictures." (dePaola, SCBWI Masterclass) "...in fact, a truly great picture book could be wordless. So the pictures actually move the story along and move the narrative along…Once the child has had the story read to them, they can remember the story just by looking at the pictures." (dePaola, SCBWI Masterclass) "A good book is a magic gateway into a wider world of wonder, beauty, delight, and adventure. Books are experiences that make us grow, that add something to our inner stature." (Hunt, p. "I am frankly excited by the potential of books to build a whole, healthy, spiritually alert child who has the capacity to enjoy all the possibilities of life." (Hunt, p. "Whenever I'm asked, 'Why should I read aloud to my child or my students.' (regardless of the child's age), it provides me with an opportunity to share why reading aloud is so important, for both reader and listener. The educational values of reading aloud are well documented: introducing vocabulary, modeling fluency, demonstrating expressive reading, developing comprehension, and assisting children in making connections. There is also the personal value of listening to a book read aloud. That experience may generate vivid memories of a story associated with a person, time, or place—a memory often remaining with us for years." (Trelease, p. 7) "We read to children for all the same reasons we talk with them: to reassure, to entertain, to bond, to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, and to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also build vocabulary, condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, provide a reading role model, and instill the desire to read." (Trelease, p. 14) "Happily ever after is hardly a myth for those who believe in the promise of eternal joy in heaven." (McKenzie, p. 96) "If we tell them enough stories, they will have encountered hard questions and practiced living through so many trials, hardships, and unexpected situations that, God willing, they will have what they need to become the heroes of their own stories." (McKenzie, p. 92) "[Story] has been the vehicle for truth for as long as the human race can remember." (Katherine Paterson quoted by McKenzie, p. 93) "Reading aloud with our kids is indeed the best use of our time and energy as parents. It's more important that just about anything else we can do." (McKenzie, p. 56) Storytelling videos: https://youtu.be/q10UgcjGAyE https://youtu.be/mOA8mUflH-Q One of my favorite storytellers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTQ3FvVFuGk Learn more about Workshops and my Mailing List: terriehellardbrown.com Other books mentioned in this episode: Transcript:Welcome to parental guidance requested from books that spark. These 12 mini-lessons are based on a workshop I offer for parents and teachers who want to make Storytime and discipleship come alive for their children. Today, we will be discussing creative ways to use picture books with your children. I want to discuss ways to read books with your children that will give variety and opportunities for learning together. We will be looking at a few important books that you may want to read that are about reading with your children. One is Reading Picture Books with Children: How to Shake up Storytime and Get Kids Talking About What They See by Megan Lambert. Another is Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook: Eighth Edition by Jim Trelease and Cyndi Giorgis.