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How Do We Live in the Present During a Pandemic?
The Church’s mission began (according to John 20) with three things which have become very familiar to us in recent days. It began with tears; with locked doors; and with doubt. On the first Easter day, Mary Magdalene was weeping in the garden outside Jesus’ empty tomb (John 20:1-18). To her astonishment, Jesus met her,… The post How Do We Live in the Present During a Pandemic? appeared first on FaithGateway.
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Don’t Lose Hope
I want to encourage you. With God, there’s always a way. You may be saying, I don’t know how… Or, I don’t have enough… Or, it doesn’t look like it is possible. God is not beholden to the natural; He is the Orchestrator of the supernatural. Mary probably thought, there is no way that I can carry “the son of the Most High” (Lu. 1:32). It must have seemed preposterous when an angel said she would. But, with God, she did — it happened — she birthed the Son of God. David must have figured he’d end up managing sheep all his life. King? I wonder if he thought that impossible. Sure enough, Samuel, the prophet, passed…
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*This Is Our Constitution by Khizr Khan
An immigrant-become-US-citizen offers a powerful, personal explanation of our nation’s Constitution for middle grades and up. *This Is Our Constitution: What It Is and Why It Matters by Khizr Khan. Yearling, 2019. 224 pages. Reading Level: Ages 10-12Recommended For: Ages 10 and up Khizr Khan and his wife are originally from Pakistan. They are also Muslim. This perspective provides Khan with a unique vantage point from which to defend the U.S. Constitution. Those of us who grew up in a country that assumed the Bill of Rights can easily forget just how incredible this document is. Khan offers a personal introduction, including his background and current profession (he’s a lawyer).…
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I’d Like to Speak to the Manager About Myself
My friend Jen and I were hiking on a local trail last weekend, which is currently configured into a one-way loop in an effort to help people socially distance while enjoying nature. The trail was crowded, and every five minutes of so, we had to step into the brush to let a mountain-biker go by…. The post I’d Like to Speak to the Manager About Myself appeared first on FaithGateway.
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Prepared for Prayer
A Prepared Place for Prayer Daniel had a specific place designated for prayer: an upstairs room in his home to which he withdrew three times every day.1 His preparations may have been as simple as setting aside this particular place where he could be undistracted and undisturbed. I’m convinced we all need this kind of… The post Prepared for Prayer appeared first on FaithGateway.
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Applaud God, Loud and Often
Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. — John 4:24 MSG We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see… The post Applaud God, Loud and Often appeared first on FaithGateway.
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Read Aloud (or Audiobook) Activities for Big Kids
Missing Read Aloud Time During COVID-19 Quarantine? I don’t know about you, but our audiobook consumption has dropped this year. In the pre-COVID-19 era, we always had audiobooks going in the car. As a mom to two 13-year-olds and one 14-year-old, I was fully in the “chauffeur stage” of parenting. We made the most of our car time, listening to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, Animal Farm, The Yearling, and Father Brown this year. Glorious! Fast forward a couple of months, and my kids and I were missing our audiobooks. No one wanted to sit around staring at each other while we listened. My…
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Get Ready to Dream Big
There is a path to discover and release your most beautiful and lasting ambitions into the world. ~ Bob Goff WELCOME Once upon a time, as kids or young adults, we had big dreams. Now life has become a maze of responsibilities, obligations, expectations, and assumptions about who we are and what we must… The post Get Ready to Dream Big appeared first on FaithGateway.
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My Fourth of July by Jerry Spinelli
My Fourth of July by Jerry Spinelli, illustration by Larry Day. Holiday House, 2019, 38 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 3-7 What’s the best day of summer—maybe even the best day of the whole year? For our nameless protagonist, it’s the Fourth. Banners waving, kids marching, horns blowing—all of it outside in the blazing sun. After an impromptu neighborhood parade it’s time to hurry up Mom and Dad (“I’m in charge of hurrying”), load up the picnic wagon and head for the park for an afternoon of food, games, food, songs, music, food, races, and more food. The day ends, of course, with fireworks—after an…
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A Ben of All Trades by Michael J. Rosen
A Ben of All Trades: the Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Matt Tavares. Candlewick, 2020, 30 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 5-10 Ben likes books because they are all different. He does not like candlemaking because they are all the same. But candlemaking is his father Josiah’s trade and, naturally enough, the first trade young Ben tries. But not the trade he wants. He wants to be a sailor—an opportunity to see new places and new people and be surrounded by water! (for he’s a fine swimmer). His father, having lost one son to the sea, won’t have…
