Tag Archives: God

Where’s Your Two-Year Old on Sunday Mornings?

So I’m perched on the front pew at Lake Harbor United Methodist Church in Muskegon.

I’d already known it was going to be a wonderful morning… what could be better than:

Being together with my ‘tribe’.
Walking into the sanctuary under a huge sign that read ‘WELCOMING ALL’ (and in the United Methodist Church, that really does mean welcoming all… NO MATTER WHAT.)
Being able to read my new books to lots of wonderful children there.
Witnessing the consecration of their brand new Grace Space (a welcoming area set aside in the sanctuary where young children can play.)
Listening to the witness of four-year old Lillian, as she loudly tells the congregation that her least favorite part of Sunday school is when she has to leave.

But the best part was yet to come…

It’s time for communion. As I perch on that front pew, I see a family come forward, not to receive communion, but to offer it. It’s a whole family… of five. There’s Mom and Dad, and three little (and I mean little ones.)

So, naturally, I grab my phone. I have to take pictures of this… it’s a new thing for me (and I don’t know it at the time, but it’s a new thing for them too.)

And as the people come forward… some in wheelchairs, some slowly pushing walkers, some skipping, some running, to receive their bread and wine, I’m watching this family… Continue reading →

One Of My Favorite Books From 2017, and a Giveaway!

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Out of all the wonderful children’s picture books I read in 2017, one stands out.

Maybe God is Like That Too, written by author Jennifer Grant and published by Sparkhouse Family, is a lovely little tale of a boy who wonders where God is and his wise grandma, who shows him.

Maybe it’s because I have ‘God conversations’ with my little six-year-old grandson, just like the characters in the story, or maybe it’s because I was lucky enough to meet the author at a Writer’s Conference where she signed my copy, but either way, this book is a favorite.

Told by a young boy, the book begins: Continue reading →

How I Found God in my Diet

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I was born skinny.

Well, maybe that’s a lie. I was, in fact, the largest of my mum’s eight babies, weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds. But the joke in my family for a long time was that I’ve never put any weight on since.

It’s true though, that through no merit of my own, I managed to give birth to four children and then shrink, almost immediately, back to my previous slim self. The same skinny jeans that I’d discarded a few months prior slid easily over my hips without too much trouble. And I continued in that same skinny vein for years and years. If you don’t believe me, here’s a 1990’s picture to prove it… Continue reading →

What I Want My Granddaughter To Know…

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Meet Colette, my first granddaughter.

This little girl, with the pony-tail tuft bouncing around on top of her head, is full of personality and fun. She’s not yet two years old, but already she can hold Grandma’s new book the right way round, lift the flaps, and see the pictures. It will be quite a while before she can read the words. But when she does, I want her to know that for every hero in the Bible, there’s always a heroine… Continue reading →

What Could a Two Year Old Possibly Learn from Girls’ Love Letters from God?

The Thirsty Girl: Part 2 in a Seven-Week Bible Study for Women

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Welcome! I’m so glad you’re joining us for this seven-week Bible study based on Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart. We’ll be studying the lives of seven incredible New Testament women. It’s the perfect way to journey through Lent together.

The Samaritan Woman at the Well: The Thirsty Girl

Read: John 4:1-29

Israel, March 2015. The coach pulls to a stop, the doors open and we all spill out, cameras at the ready. We are British and America tourists, anxious to capture a photograph to prove that we’re standing beside the famous Jacob’s Well.

It wasn’t in the middle of a field, as you might expect. The well where Jesus sat, over two thousand years ago, and had that holy conversation with an unknown Samaritan woman, is now located in a church which serves to preserve this holy site.

We dropped a stone down the deep, deep shaft, and heard it splash 135 feet below. It was Betsy who turned the crank to wind the bucket back to the surface. And she tasted that water. I tasted that water. My sister tasted that water. We all tasted that water: the very same water that Jesus drank, all those years ago.

Don’t you think that’s incredible! After more than two thousand years, Jacob’s Well is not dried up. The water is still flowing. And if that’s not a picture of God’s never-ending, everlasting, soul-quenching love for us, I don’t know what is.

Let’s find out more about our Thirsty Girl…

Continue reading →

The Young Girl: Part 1 In a Seven-Week Bible Study for Women

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Welcome! I’m so glad you’re joining us for this seven-week Bible study based on Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart. We’ll be studying the lives of seven incredible New Testament women. It’s the perfect way to journey through Lent together.

Mary: The Young Girl

Read: Luke 1: 26-38

Scholars believe that Mary was only about twelve years old when the angel Gabriel appeared by her side and gave her news that would rock both her world and ours.

What were you doing at twelve years old? I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t thinking about God much, or angels. I was thinking about boys, and what I might wear to the school disco. But yet I know God was thinking about me, just like God was thinking about Mary.

I was Mary’s age, just twelve years old, when I knelt at the altar rail with my sister and invited Jesus into my heart. I remember feeling special as I rode home on the bus that night… like God knew me. Continue reading →

Esther: The Prayerful Girl- Part 7 in a Fourteen-Week Bible Study for Women

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Welcome! I’m so glad you’re joining us for this fourteen-week Bible study based on the newest book in the Love Letters series. If you made it this far, congratulations! We are now half-way through and, as a thank you, at the end of this post you’ll be able to enter a five- book giveaway of Girls’ Love Letters from God.

Esther: The Prayerful Girl

Read: Esther 2-8

I just saw a funny photo on Facebook. It showed a room full of little girls, all of them dressed in pretty pink, wearing tiaras and tutus, except one. She was wearing a batman cloak and mask. The tag-line read:

In a world full of princesses, dare to be batman.

It reminded me of Esther, who, even though she wore the crown, was brave enough to be herself, and to act as a true superhero who rescued generations of Jews from extinction.

Let’s meet Esther, The Prayerful Girl…

Continue reading →

The Servant Girl: Part 6 in a Fourteen-Week Bible Study for Women

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Welcome! I’m so glad you’re joining us for this fourteen-week Bible study based on Girls’ Love Letters from God. If you have time, you may wish to keep a journal to record your responses to the questions. Please DO leave comments, responses or questions on this post so that we can learn from and encourage one another.

The Servant Girl

Read 2 Kings 5:1-16

Last week I saw an amazing movie called Hidden Figures. If you haven’t seen it yet, GO. It tells the untold true story of three brilliant African-American women, who served as the brains behind one of NASA’s greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The film’s tag-line is:

Meet The Women You Don’t Know. Behind The Mission You Do.

Our Bible heroine for this week is also a hidden figure. She is largely unknown. We don’t even know her name. We’ll find her with a broom in her hand, sweeping floors, preparing meals, making beds, serving quietly in the household of the commander of the Syrian army. But this quiet, unassuming, insignificant girl has the power to change lives.

Continue reading →

Deborah: The Strong Girl- Part 4 in a Fourteen-Week Bible Study for Women

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Welcome! I’m so glad you’re joining us for this fourteen-week Bible study based on Girls’ Love Letters from God. If you have time, you may wish to keep a journal to record your responses to the questions. Please DO leave comments, responses or questions on this post so that we can learn from and encourage one another.

Deborah: The Strong Girl

Read: Judges 4:1-16

In 1939 a motivational poster was produced by a British company to boost the morale of its citizens as they faced news of impending war. On a bright red background, five words in capital letters stood out clearly, and proclaimed a bold message to the world: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.

It’s a message that the heroine of our Bible story, Deborah, would have worn as a billboard around her neck. Except that in her case, I’ve a feeling it would say: KEEP CALM AND MARCH ON.