A Guest Post by Allia Zobel Nolan

 

Allia Zobel Nolan

My friend and fellow author Allia Zobel Nolan guest posts today!

When I met Allia, we both worked for publishing houses that sometimes collaborated to create children’s books. One day Allia sent me an e-mail asking what Bible versions I read or would recommend. The next time we saw each other, I knew something had changed. I’ll let her tell you more:


I admit it.  I never read the Bible much before I became a children’s book author. I’d just jump in and out when I needed a quote for a toddler’s Noah or Moses book I was editing. I never lingered.

Oh, I’d pour over books like The Purpose Driven Life or The Jesus I Never Knew or The Case for Christ. More my style. The Bible? Too dry for me.

That all changed when I made a deal with God one day: Heal me from a horrible nerve disease, and I’d write a book just for Him. I’d call it The Worrywart’s Prayer Book because not trusting God and being anxious was one of my greatest problems. So I figured I’d help myself as well as others researching a book like this.

Well, needless to say, God came through, and so did I. And that’s when I got really “into” the Bible.

And eureka! I could write pages about what I found there … because what I found is that it’s ALL there. An answer for every challenge, every problem, every doubt we face, all in that one Book.

Of course, I concentrated on worry, and the Bible didn’t disappoint.  I wrote 40 chapters on trust, patience, accepting joy, loss, change, finding a mate, job jitters, failure, success, possessive possessions, death, money, terrorism, and more. I found advice on it all, right in God’s own words.

My love affair with the Good News (and it’s all good) didn’t stop there. I became intrigued by Philippians 4:8, a Scripture verse from the apostle Paul. I call it the whatever Scripture:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about those things.” 

Whatever, a word we hear so often, a word we use sarcastically to mean “Do what you want,” “Yeah, right,” or  “I don’t care.”  But Paul used the word in a totally different context. So I did too. I used it to write WHATEVER: Livin’ the True, Noble, Totally Excellent Life to help girls 9-12 “take captive every thought and hold it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Once again, in the Bible I found all the answers I needed that would resonate with young readers:

Bad hair day? The Bible says, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles…. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within” (1 Peter 3:4).

No money for new duds? The Bible says, “And why worry about your clothes? Look at the field lilies. They don’t worry about theirs” (Matthew 6:29).

Feel uglier than a troll? The Bible says you are “amazingly and miraculously made” (Psalm 139:13). So feel blessed, not depressed.

And that’s just a sampling; I could go on and on.  (And I did, for 300 pages!)

Bottom line is, though, that through a GINORMOUS amount of grace, I found the Word to hold more knowledge than ten thousand Google searches on how to live a totally excellent, God-focused life now–as well as whatever I need to get me to my ultimate destination: the room the Bible says Jesus has gone to prepare for me.

But don’t take my word for it, take HIS. You’ll find answers to whatever you’ve been searching for … and more!

Do you have a favorite Scripture that sheds light on an everyday challenge?
Please share it with us in the comments!

The Scripture in today’s post is from the New International Version, the New Living Translation, the Living Bible, and God’s Word Translation.

*****
Allia Zobel Nolan is an internationally-published, award-winning author of over 170 children’s and adult trade titles with close to two million books in print. Her books reflect her two main passions, God and cats, and include such varied titles as Cat Confessions: A Kitty-Come-Clean Tell-All Book, The Ten Commandments for Little Ones, The Worrywart’s Prayer Book, and her latest, WHATEVER: Livin’ the True, Noble, Totally Excellent Life, a Zondervan FaithGirlz title.

Allia lives in Connecticut with her husband, Desmond Finbarr Nolan, and their three feline children, Sinead, McDuff, and Angela. Visit Allia at www.AlliaWrites.com or on Facebook.

– Diane

Wonders and Worship on a Fall Walk

Yesterday I took a walk at a park near home. I started out on the paved path . . .

But then I headed out on the wetlands loop, all gravel and hilly.
Harder to travel, but worthwhile. I found gold!

And I found beauty among ashes . . .


If we will look, it’s easy to see the creation worshiping the Creator . . .

As we are meant to do.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.–Isaiah 61:3


Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.–Matthew 5:15-16

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.–Romans 12:1-2

Today’s Scriptures are from the New International Version.

– Diane

How to Make Memory Verses Magnetic


Sometimes we need a little help to get verses to stick with us.

How about using magnets?


Last week I wrote “Let the Children Come,” about how much I enjoyed helping my five-year-old grandson memorize Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 106:1 while I was visiting.


We Skyped over the weekend. He still has the first verse down. He needed a little prompting to remember parts of the second. But he was proud to be able to repeat them both.


He’s learning to read. So I found some colorful card stock and printed out the verses in big type with extra spaces between the words. I cut out the strips and stuck them to a long magnetic strip with adhesive backing. Then I cut the words apart.


I am not crafty, but this was easy!


When Sol was a toddler, he loved the colorful ABCs we stuck to the fridge. I think he’ll have fun arranging his verses and love these magnetic words even more.


And I pray that the truths in the verses will stick in his heart as the words stick on the fridge.


So now I must go put his very own magnetic verses in the mail to him!


(And honestly, to help me learn a verse that tends to trip me up, I just might try this myself.)


– Diane

Let the Children Come

Afternoon at Forsyth Park

Me: Want to learn some Bible words?

Five year old: OK.

Me: In the beginning …

Five year old: In the beginning …

Me: In the beginning God created …

Five year old: In the beginning God created …

Me: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Five year old: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Woman rolling by in a wheelchair: Amen!

Me: Very good! When we get home, I’ll show you these words in the Bible.

Five year old: OK.

That evening

Me: Do you remember the Bible words you learned today?

Five year old: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Me: Very good! Want to see the words in my Bible?

Five year old: OK.

Me: Here they are, right at the beginning.

Five year old: Let me see.

Five year old, suddenly recognizing the words: In … the … begin-ning … God … creat-ed … the … heavens … andtheearth!

Me: Very good!

My grandson owns several children’s Bible storybooks. He has listened to Bible stories since he was very young, and now he can read them himself. And I’ve written and edited Bible curriculum, Bible stories, and Bible storybooks.

But helping him memorize Genesis 1:1 and pointing out the words to him in an actual Bible was a thrill.

Let the children come!

– Diane

Roma Downey, God’s Sweet Story, and Me

Cross-posted from the Christian Children’s Authors site.

We all need an entry point into God’s Word. Children too.

That’s why I’m so thrilled and blessed that The Sweetest Story Bible now comes in a deluxe edition, with all the stories narrated on two audio CDs by Roma Downey.

The forty stories in The Sweetest Story Bible focus on helping little girls get to know God–who he is and what he does. And each one relates in some way to the everyday sweet moments in a little girl’s life.

Here’s one little girl, Scottlyn, enjoying her book!

Scottlyn’s grandma asked me to autograph a copy of the deluxe edition for her.

Nearly a year ago, on my birthday, I got an e-mail from a Zonderkidz editor letting me know about the deluxe edition and that Roma would likely be the narrator.

Quite the birthday gift!

But nothing like actually hearing Roma read the stories I wrote! I waited a day after my sample arrived–there’s something quite scary about hearing your own words read back to you, especially by someone with such a wonderful voice. Finally I got brave and sat down to listen. Chills and tears!

We just have no idea, sometimes, what might happen with our small efforts, do we? May Scottlyn and so many other girls like her grow up to have a sweet relationship with God through his Son, the Word, Jesus Christ.

– Diane

A Guest Post by Lynn Pratt

My friend Lynn Lusby Pratt loves Jesus and loves God’s word. She’s an excellent editor and a creative, prolific writer too. (Check out her site Deep, Dark, and Funny.) This guest post is adapted from one of Lynn’s many published articles.

Psalm 23 woke me up.

Groggy, for I had slept badly, I tried to rise up on one elbow. Before I was even conscious of having a thought, I found myself thinking, Psalm 23.

Giving in to the lethargy I felt, I lay back down. In the 5 a.m. stillness, I whispered, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He . . .”

Something didn’t seem right. Maybe the part about still waters came first.

I started over several times but could not get past the green pastures. Then I noticed a different emphasis: “He makes me lie down.”

I sighed. How wonderful that would be, if the Lord would make me lie down in green pastures. My need for rest and comfort began to turn into a dreamy hope.

Lying down in green pastures. I could almost feel the breeze combining with the warm sun to cause goosebumps. I smelled the alfalfa field of my childhood and saw monarch butterflies. 

Make me. Usually a phrase of defiance, isn’t it? But over a period of several weeks, I turned the “He makes me” of Psalm 23 into a “make me” prayer: Make me lie down, Lord. Make me lie down in the green pastures of your care.

And I wondered. What else might the Lord make me do or what kind of person make me be if I would allow him?

Exodus 31:13 (and others). “I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”
Make me holy.

1 Samuel 2:6. “The Lord brings death and makes alive.”
Make me alive.

Job 36:10. “He makes them listen to correction.”
Make me listen to correction.

2 Corinthians 1:21 (and 1 Peter 5:10). “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.”
Make me stand firm.

Psalm 4:8. “You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 7:9. “O righteous God . . . make the righteous secure.”
Make me secure.

Psalm 90:15. “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us.”
Make me glad.

Psalm 119:98. “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies.”
Make me wise.

Matthew 4:19. “I will make you fishers of men.”
Make me a fisherman.

1 Thessalonians 3:12. “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other.”
Make my love increase.

1 Samuel 12:22. “The Lord was please to make you his own.”
Make me your own.

I hope these prayers strike you with the same awe they did me. I have prayed them over and over. And I’ve learned to close my prayers with Psalm 95:6. “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”

Make me, Lord.

What other “make me” verse would you add to Lynn’s list?
photo: Evgeni Dinev, freedigitalphotos.net
– Diane