Dear Friends,
It’s that time again! Here I am with the monthly round up of news.
Something is eating my beans!
For the first time ever, I’m growing beans in our garden. The plants are luscious, with all that sun we had and then the rain… but something is eating all the new little beans!
I need to do something to stop the creepy crawlies stealing my crop!
It made me think. Plants can look strong, but how can we be sure our children/the children on our hearts will always be strong in their faith?
We can’t, of course. Only the Lord can touch hearts, change lives.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a part to play. The Lord has chosen to use us! Scripture tells us we must talk about the Lord and His ways with our children as we walk along the road of life together (Deut. 6:7, 11:19).
This isn’t an optional suggestion, and the consequences of not doing so aren’t worth thinking about. Of course we want our children to be happy, healthy and to do well in life, but above all else, when we belong to God, we want them to know Jesus. Nothing else compares, does it?
Evangelism has to start at home. There are many ways to bring faith into conversations, and you will want to read the Bible and pray together when you can…
And there’s another easy and entertaining way to bring up issues of faith – fun, relevant Christian stories are brilliant conversation starters!
If your children don’t like reading, you can read to them, listen to the stories on audio, or buy kindle ebooks so they can read them on their phone/tablet/laptop with the free app.
You can start today! Here’s what you need to do:
1. Choose your books and order, either here or from your local Christian bookshop.
2. Read with your children, or if that’s not possible, send your gift with the message, “I saw this and thought of you.”
3. Discuss the story in person, on the phone, skype, whatsapp, instant message service…. or by letter. Where there’s a will there’s a way!
Pray and see what the Lord will do! We have had some amazing comments from parents/grandparents/carers/teachers and children who have read our books – it’s not an exaggeration to say our books have changed lives.
Whether “your children” are family, friends, church kids, pupils or friends and neighbours’ children, every one deserves to have someone talk to them about Jesus.
How will they know if no one tells them? But think what could happen if YOU DO?
Audiobooks
Know a young person who prefers to listen than read? Want them to be taking in good stuff? You can find all our audiobooks now, all over the web, ready for you to download for all your 8-16+! Pretty much wherever you usually buy your audiobooks, you can get ours – iTunes, Audible… or if you don’t want to buy a subscription, Google Play. 🙂 You can buy the books for yourself, or as a gift for anyone with an email address. Just download with the free app, press play and enjoy as many times as you like!
Sharing the Wealth
A pastor’s wife I know through social media, Claire, gave her daughter A New Me to read. This is what she said, “Just a bit of encouragement for you – my daughter has just finished reading this book… and LOVED it! She said she wished she’d picked it up as soon as I gave it to her.” Get this book from our website or from Christian bookshops. Don’t delay – time passes too quickly when they’re growing up!
The main character in this book, Jess, is from a broken home because her dad drinks, is threatened with eviction because her mum can’t pay the rent, goes to live with an elderly aunt in a village (with her mum and brother), is bullied at school, foils a cockfighting gang, and becomes a Christian! Why not buy a copy for a child you know who is going through a tough time?
Email Marketing
The time has come for Dernier to move into email marketing. We have always supported Christian bookshops, and will continue to do so, but we also need to realise that we can reach so many more children by moving into new ways of publicising our books. So I’ve set up a new email list, separate from this newsletter. If you would like to be part of it (you will receive weekly-ish emails instead of once a month) please click here. It’s exciting because I know we will be able to reach a wider audience this way, but I do hope those of you who can will continue to buy your books from bookshops – they are a great witness, and serve the community in a much more personal way than email ever can. May the Lord continue to bless the outreach of bookshops. We love them!
Summer Reading
So now it’s time to get your summer reading books, whether you buy paperbacks, audiobooks or kindle books. We have books suitable for ages from 8-16+. Time to choose!
I hope you all have a wonderful summer, enjoy lots of good books and watch your children grow in their faith!
Janet
P.S. Please join us in praying for all the children who will be reading Christian books this summer (not just ours!). May many hearts be touched, seeds sown and lives changed.
P.P.S. This is the link to sign up to receive regular emails from us, to keep you informed, and give you offers and updates.