Have you ever lost yourself in a painting? Perhaps when looking at Monet’s haystacks you’ve heard the wind whispering through the grass, or when gazing at one of Renoir’s party scenes you could almost hear the clink of the glasses and the din of laughter. Maybe, dizzy and awestruck, you’ve steadied yourself against a wall…
In some previous stage of my theological thinking, I conceived of the spiritual realm as an arena essentially separate from the materiality of daily life. More recently, influenced by the writings of N.T. Wright among others, I have come to realize the significance of the existing Creation as part of God’s eternal grand design. The…
“What kind of robes are we talking?” My 9-year-old’s eyes are wide and earnest as she looks up from her cinnamon roll to ask the question. We’ve found a table in the crowded café, plopped our Bibles and journals down, and waited patiently for our order. Now we begin what we came to do: study…
I am extremely pleased to tell you that I’m celebrating an addition to my personal list of books that I think of as “quintessentially boy.” My list of books for boys, featuring characters that are “quintessentially boy,” runs something like this: The Hardy Boys (classic), The Sugar Creek Gang, Soup, The Three Investigators, Farmer Boy,…
Hercules Beal is not the strongest kid in his class. He is, in fact, the shortest, still waiting on his growth spurt. He is also, thanks to a drunk driver, newly an orphan. As a result, he has to transfer to a closer middle school for his sixth grade year because his older brother (now…
Losing as well as finding ourselves in story is a joy for readers of all ages. Sometimes a thoroughly unfamiliar topic piques my interest, but more often it is a spark of recognition that attracts me to a book. I hope parents as well as children will find the titles below broadly relatable. Only after…
I’ve self-diagnosed myself with adult amnesia. Maybe I made that term up, but I think it’s a real problem. I have trouble remembering what it’s like to be a kid. Do you? Actually, I do remember much of what it’s like. The problem is I have trouble remembering to remember. When I was a kid,…
Recently, my kids and I took a trip to our local science museum to see a planetarium show and an IMAX film. The films featured opposite corners of our universe: the planetarium show catapulted us through space to the rusty crags of Mars, while the IMAX special plunged us into caves that glittered like forests…
For years, read-aloud time was the beating heart of our homeschool. From the time my kids were toddlers, they’d tolerate academics because they knew that once they finished practicing homophones and math facts, we’d get to the good stuff — our “Cozy Up Reading Time,” during which they’d each grab a snack, I’d grab a…
Spring is one of my favorite seasons (though I enjoy them all in their turn). I love the way the bare brown earth seems to magically come to life with wildflowers and lush green things everywhere. I adore the tiny, new leaves on the oaks, like a delicate green frost, as spring begins to awaken…
Hey folks, we just wanted to make sure that all fans of S. D. Smith’s Green Ember books have something new to enjoy! S. D. Smith and his son, J. C. Smith, have released a new book called Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key. S. D. Smith wrote the The Green Ember Series for his…
I’ve always felt a bit disoriented in the world, a quiet dissonance fizzling between the inside life of my mind and the outside world. My inside world hums along to a most mysterious and enchanting cinematic melody, while the outside culture blares tepid insurance-call-hold music on repeat. Reading good books sometimes exacerbates this disconnect, both…
