What Are They Looking For?

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

Middle-schoolers tend to be in search mode about everything. They are trying to find their way in a big world. So how do we help them without them actually knowing? What are their interests, their escapes, their motivations? How can we guide them in a Godly path without pushing? Maybe through reading choices. 

So what are middle schoolers looking for in a book?  How about a book with:

• pets
• relationships with friends, boy/girl, parents, God
• multicultural
• adventure
• mystery
• medical issues
• blended families
• parent in jail
• child abuse

All of these are things middle schoolers care about, but does it all have to be in one book?

No, but it can be if you’re Colleen Coble, master storyteller, who can reach the hearts of kids with the Truth and the reality of the twenty-first century.

When I read Rock Harbor Search and Rescue I hoped – thought perhaps, my granddaughter who is thirteen, might enjoy it for her summer reading. Like all teens, she’s a tough sell. She devoured it! It was a book she could relate to. Even though she isn’t in all of the same situations (thankfully), she has friends who are.

So, what’s it about?

• pets – training a search and rescue puppy
• relationships with friends, boy/girl, parents, God – trust/mistrust
• multicultural – Native Americans and their superstitions/beliefs
• adventure – helping in a rescue
• mystery – who stole it and why am I being blamed
• medical issues – juvenile diabetes
• blended families – children of divorce and the baby from a new marriage
• parent in jail – mom
• child abuse – fears/nightmares in the aftermath of abuse

It’s a great girl book and I’m looking forward to reading more of Colleen’s novels, but first I’m on the hunt for a great mid-grade boy novel. I think I may have found one. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to share it in September.

Hey, Kids of all ages:

 What attracts you to a book? What do you like to see on a cover? 

What do you like to read about? 

Do you have a favorite author or a favorite book? 

Please share your thoughts with us. You may see some of your answers in the next blog, but I won't reveal your name. 

Casting Our Nets

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. John 21:5,6.

We vacationed at Huntington Beach State Park in SC. The state park offered a lot of activities throughout the day. One morning was seining. As a kid, I had seined for minnows with my dad and brothers. We used them to catch crappy. I'd never seined in the ocean but I wanted to try for the memories. I had forgotten the angle of the net and the young man helping me was unsure of the correct way. We caught nothing.

A dad began helping his son drag the net using the opposite angle. The boy and his dad caught a fish, then two, then several as little sister got in on the act. 

The fish were there. My partner and I were just using an ineffective method. I remember as a child singing a song in Sunday School "Fished all night, Caught no fishes . . . . Out on the deep blue sea.  Cast your net on the other side etc. Now the nets were full and breaking etc." 

So many churches are like the nets, empty though we have fished and fished. Could it be we need to change the way we are fishing for men - rather people? The twentieth century saw rapid changes, especially in the latter half. The twenty-first century is snowballing with change. Stats say 2 out of 3 children raised in the church leave by the time they are adults. Are we keeping up or are we still trying to fish the same old way? How can we reach our young people with a twenty-first century fishing method? Please share your ideas or things that are working in your church. 

Hey Kids:

Do you like fishing? What's your favorite thing to do with your parents?

In the hot summertime, my dad took us night fishing. I remember one night rocking in the boat watching the end of our poles by lantern light. My dad loved to tell scary stories. He had a lot of them and we loved to listen. That night a huge full moon rose. It was a deep reddish orange. Daddy began to tell us how the Bible said before the end of the world the moon would turn to blood. That was all it took to scare the life out of us and make us begin to ask questions. It was his way of implanting Biblical teachings into three little kids that have lasted a lifetime. He easily had a conversation about the Lord involving our normal activities or not so normal with a blood red moon shining down on us.

How do you share what you are learning about the Lord and His word with friends and adults?

As you think about what you'll be doing today, think about how you can cast your net by sharing the Lord in a natural way.

Please share your ideas with us. We are never too old or too young to learn.

Blessings,

Gail

Who Doesn't Love a Fairy Tale?

This week I had the privilege of interviewing a fellow author from NC, Mrs. Janice Hopkins.  Her book It All Started at the Masquerade intrigued me because it seemed like a very familiar fairy tale with a purpose. If we look deeper into most stories there is a purpose for either good or bad. Thankfully Janice's books are for good. Join me as I understand more of Janice's purpose and how she accomplishes it.

Janice, how old were you when you started to write or knew you wanted to be a writer?

I actually started writing stories on my own in the third grade, and I’ve known I wanted to write ever since I fell in love with books when I was five. I would be a writer even if I never had anything published. It’s just part of who I am.

How did the idea for the book It All Started at the Masquerade come about?

A Patchwork Country

 Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we                  will be restored. 
        Lamentations 5:21 NKJV 







Quilts --- small colored pieces of cloth stitched together in a pleasing pattern to provide comfort, warmth, and protection against the cold. 

I'd much rather have a quilt than a blanket. You've seen one blanket, you've seen them all. Not so many years ago, women saved their scraps from the family clothes to make winter quilts. Often those scraps held memories of family events or funny stories. My Papa bought a bolt of white cloth so Grandma could make the family Easter clothes, a dress for their little girl, a dress for her, and a Sunday shirt for Papa. Without thinking, Grandma died the whole bolt --- pink!
Yes, Papa wore his new pink shirt with his overalls that Easter of 1925.