At some point on Easter Sunday, I turned to my roommate and her fiancé (we merge our two isolation pods on weekends), and said, “Can we be social for the rest of the day? I don’t like holidays without people.” I grew up in a home that had guests for dinner almost every week, and overnight guests multiple times a month. I’m at the point in this stay at home season when all I want is to be near other people–preferably ones I love and enjoy–and I know sometime soon, I’ll be able to do just that. Every one of us is facing different struggles in these days, but in each one of them, there is hope. And for those of us who celebrated the resurrection this week, we know all about hope. Let us live in it.

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What Children Need Most in a Pandemic, and Always

David Michael reminds us of what’s important.

Great News: Jelly Belly® reserves are strong and should be available to supply global demand through the pandemic and beyond!
Not that there would be a run on them, but for at least two decades of ministry, I’ve used these colorful little gems to cast vision for the next generation, showing how all things–even eating jelly beans–can be done for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Now I hope they will help me make a different point, one that matters deeply to us and to our children at this unusual time.
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A Curation of Hope: Some Good News with John Krasinski

I hope you’ve found Some Good News over on YouTube already, but if you haven’t, let K.B. Hoyle introduce you to one of the most encouraging things I’ve seen in the past few weeks.

The world is full of bad news right now. Between writing and publishing this, the number of people infected by the Coronavirus is bound to increase by vast amounts. The healthcare system is facing an unprecedented strain, people are dying alone without comfort from loved ones, the economy is in shambles, unemployment is at record highs, and certainly most everyone reading this hasn’t left their homes in weeks. We are steeped in the bad news this pandemic has wrought on us, reminded daily of our frailty, our mortality, and how little control we have over so much we took for granted just a little while ago.
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Hymns of Hope and Comfort: O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing

Jonathan Aigner is sharing hymns of hope and comfort.

During this time of fear and uncertainty in the COVID-19 wilderness, I’ve decided to do something a little different. I’m going to be daily using my blog to share texts and videos of hymns that pass along hope and comfort until the restrictions are lifted, and we can worship in our buildings once again. I hope you find them to be encouraging and edifying during this time.
Take care, everyone. Wash your hands. And keep the faith.
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Magical Books for Kids who Like The Chronicles of Narnia

Is your young reader looking for something new-but-familiar? Here’s a book list for those who love Narnia.

If your kids have read and enjoyed C.S. Lewis’s classic series, I hope they will enjoy the titles on this list of books for kids who like The Chronicles of Narnia. As with my other “books for kids who like…” lists, I haven’t included only books that resemble Narnia in plot details and themes. I’m interested in recommending books that help your children expand their reading horizons!
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The Trees Clap Their Hands

Doug Basler shows us the certainty of Isaiah’s words in the midst of uncertainty.

My mom died a year ago today. A year has never passed so quickly. Our daughter said it seems like it was only last month. I spent the year not knowing what to feel. The experts claim that grief comes in waves. I certainly experienced swells. A set would come in when buying chocolate chips in the grocery store or while watching the kids score a goal this Fall on the soccer field. I cannot guess the number of hours she spent sitting on cheap aluminum bleachers over the years. She would have loved to watch them this season and she would have noticed their progress. My dad transferred our old land-line number to his cell phone and seeing the number I dialed thousands of times as a kid each time I called him raised memories of my childhood home and with it memories of my mom.
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Ember’s End: A Review

James D. Witmer reviews the capstone of The Green Ember series.

This month my friend S. D. Smith published the capstone book of his best-selling Green Ember series, Ember’s End. It’s a series about anthropomorphic rabbits, villainous wolves, and birds of prey. It’s also a series about what happens when everything you know is broken by an invading evil; the powers of faithfulness and hope and self-sacrifice.
So far Smith’s series has put a lot of characters in danger, made many homeless, and left others missing in action.
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