This month of Thanksgiving, because I am thankful for prayer and the blessings of my Heavenly Father, I’d like to highlight Tanner Olson’s All the Things I Say to God and Jay and Kristi Smith’s The Lord Is My Shepherd. I believe both these books deserve ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, and I think God has caused me to connect with them this month for a reason.
While I’ve tried to limit my blog posts this year to focusing only on book reviews, I need to veer off the beaten path for a moment and share an incident that has caused me to reflect on God’s mysterious ways.
I recently attended a Word Weavers meeting with several new writers in attendance. As a result, our president asked us all to introduce ourselves and tell a little about our lives and our writing.
I had already met Heather Carter*, one of the new attendees, several months ago after she had discovered my book Look for the Pink Ribbons. She confided in me that she had recently lost her three-year-old daughter, and my book had been a consolation for her and her family, especially her other three children. Heather told our Word Weavers group a little about her daughter’s death and how writing had helped her in her grief.
Then Lynetta Mashe, a lady I had never met, shared her own story about the deaths of her young twin sons. Heather and Lynetta had never met, but the empathy in the room quickly began to overflow.
What a wonderful opportunity for these two souls to meet and connect and share their stories!
God does work in mysterious ways!
Their stories have led me to share Tanner Olson’s All the Things I Say to God. In this book the parents of a young girl named Abby encourage her to pray to God anytime, anywhere, and about anything on her mind or in her heart.
Abby and her parents “prayed together before meals . . . and before bed. They prayed together at church . . . and at home. They prayed together on good days and hard days too.”
When Abby is concerned that she might not have anything special to say to God, her mom explains,
“You can pray without saying anything. Sometimes just quietly listening can be a prayer too.”
“So that night, after the sun set and the moon shone bright, Abby lay quiet and still. She didn’t feel lost or alone—she felt safe and loved, just thinking about God.
Abby knew God was with her always, even in silence.”
I love how this book reassures kids (and me) that God always hears our innermost thoughts—even when we don’t have words. I need this reminder as an adult!
The prayers mentioned in Olson’s book and the special connection between the two Word Weavers members also led me to The Lord Is My Shepherd by Jay and Kristi Smith.
This precious board book takes children on a journey through the 23rd Psalm with a shaggy Sheepdog named Elton.
I can imagine wonderful bedtime conversations centered around these images and the simple paraphrasing of the psalm.
“Even if I walk through a very dark valley, I will not be afraid because you are with me. Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.”
I think both these books would make great additions to your home or your church library.
I was never a fan of amusement parks as a child, and I have always tried to stay clear of roller coasters. But I must say that my writing journey thus far has been a roller coaster ride. While God has taken me out of my comfort zone, He has also led me to walk (or ride) with some wonderful Christian people, many of whose heroic stories have inspired me to see God’s hand where I might not have seen it before.
Thank you, God, for your many blessings and all your mysterious ways!
To paraphrase lines from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, sweetness lies within adversity, and goodness can be found in everything.
*Please note: I will be including Heather Carter’s book Sadie’s Stitches in a giveaway in my December newsletter. Stay tuned and subscribe if you have not already done so! https://joycemccullough.com/newsletter/
“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”—Alfred, Lord Tennyson
“O, I have suffered with those that I saw suffer.”—William Shakespeare
“All will be well, and all manner of things shall be well . . . and you shall see it.”–Julian of Norwich
Psalm 18:6; 1 Samuel 3:21; Jeremiah 33:3; Matthew 6:6; Psalm 23; Proverbs 16:9.
I always enjoy reading you blog as there are some “golden nuggets” of knowledge in them. Todays was “She didn’t feel lost or alone—she felt safe and loved, just thinking about God.”. I think lots of folks don’t realize that praying opens the door to Gods Kingdom, his wisdom and his love. This door doesn’t have locks nor is it hard to open; its sort of like in the “Arabian Nights” when the people said “Open Says Me”, all you do is ask for the door to open via prayer. There is no format for a prayer because it’s an informal talk between you and God; hey you could even sing your prayer. Regardless, there is no set time for a prayer, what you can say or what you can ask for…its your private time with our creator. As a matter of fact you can just communicate with God anywhere; on a bike, riding a lawn mower, writing a blog or just “chillin” on the porch watching the world go by….God doesn’t care. I will tell you who is disturbed when we pray…its the devil, because he realizes he has lost control of us as the Lord is now in the drivers seat and not Satan or his minions.
So, this issue of “The Literary Lyonesse” is a good one and definitely food for thought for those looking to go on a journey that lasts a lifetime.
Pete,
Your comments never cease to amaze me. When I struggle to believe in what I’ve written, you always let me know my words have meant something to somebody.
Thank you!!
I too have been blessed by these words you shared.
Thank you, Mickie!!
I,too, have been blessed by these words you shared.
Good food for thought!