October 31, 2017

How to overcome arachnophobia in six easy steps!

October 31, 2017/ Anna Kathryn Ellzey

In the spirit of Halloween and creepy-crawlies everywhere...
...I’m offering you a gift today. A gift of pure lunacy straight from my life. Take it or leave it, but today I'm sharing the absurdity behind how I gave up the fear of spiders, why I believe it matters for mamas and their kiddos, and how you can learn to love (read: tolerate) the little guys too! All in six easy, *totally sane, not at all over-reactionary* steps that YOU can implement today and laugh about tomorrow!

Read or not, here we go!

October 30, 2017

God speaks and the hopeless are healed. - john chapter five

October 30, 2017/ Anna Kathryn Ellzey

The fifth chapter of John begins with the story of Jesus healing a man at a pool. The pool is a bit (or a lot) of a mystery, but it was apparently believed that the first person to enter the water when it was stirred would be healed. This man had nobody to help him into the pool and thus would never be healed. This man was hopeless. THIS is the man Jesus met, and this is the man Jesus healed.

October 25, 2017

We're Reading: The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross

October 25, 2017/ Anna Kathryn Ellzey

This might be the book that is the most fun to read to my kids.

It’s beautiful, for starters. I was immediately drawn to ALL the color, and the bright, childlike illustrations that truly jump off the front cover.

I eventually read the title to figure out what I was holding in my hands with such colorful excitement, but y'all, I just could. not. wait. to flip through the pages!

Every illustration on every page was created with the eyes of a young listener in mind, but also deeply intentional, describing the intended scene through details, lines, colors, and the void of color. You will know the intention of this book even before you read the words!

October 23, 2017

So... You have a diverting toddler... - gleanings from john chapter four

October 23, 2017/ Anna Kathryn Ellzey

Among SO many other things in John 4, I love how Jesus addresses the Samaritan woman, and the route He takes to bring her to Himself as the Living Water and her Savior.

If you've got a minute, read through it, specifically verses 7-30. And while you’re reading, think about that toddler in your life who avoids admitting wrong by diverting your attention to his awesome new somersault skills..

The message in these verses is beautiful: Jesus is teaching her about Himself and the salvation He offers that will quench her thirst eternally, unlike the earthly relationships she has sought over and over that have repeatedly failed to quench her never-ending thirst. His methodology, however, was lost on me until an all too familiar interaction I had with my two year old today.

October 19, 2017

We're Reading & Singing: Baby's Hug-a-Bible and Rain For Roots

October 19, 2017/ Anna Kathryn Ellzey

Embrace the Word of God. Literally.

Did you know that an embrace is any hug that lasts five seconds or longer? That may not be a technical definition, but... it's been working for me for a lot of years. And am I alone in this, or do you ever read your Bible, embracing in your heart the glory and grace of God revealed in it's pages, and just feel the need to give that book a good, long bear hug??

Because there's a children's Bible (written for kids up to 3ish) that is totally huggable... and it is the sweetest little board book, teaching kids right from the start to embrace God's Word, both spiritually and physically! It's the Baby's Hug-a-Bible* by Sally Lloyd-Jones!

In it, Sally shares ten short poems telling Bible stories that reveal God's power, sovereignty, compassion, love, grace... and makes them personal to little listeners, all in 6-8 lines per story! The length, language, and illustrations are so perfect for grabbing and holding the attention of little bitties, and the cover is perfect for snuggling.

And if that's not adorable enough, Sally Lloyd-Jones' sweet poems from the Hug-a-Bible have been put to music by Rain For Roots in Big Stories For Little Ones*, and they are SO good. They're folksy, and artsy, and totally for grown ups... Y'all, I love this music so much. I listened to it for myself when I was pregnant... in the car with no kids... doing dishes during naps... all the time. And the track about Daniel was the first song Mercy learned to sing along to (you know, bits and pieces) long before she was talking.

A couple of months after Mercy's arrival... rocking her to sleep one night, I finally opened her Hug-a-Bible and read it to her. Before I knew it I had sung through every page with a big grin on my face and Mercy was just snoozing away... and this pair has been my favorite new-baby gift ever since.

Since this first album, Rain for Roots has put together two more (The Kingdom of Heaven is Like This* and Waiting Songs* (a Christmas collection!), and each is just as good as the first! Check them out... you're kids will be singing along, and so will you!

MORE AWESOME BOOKS AND SONGS!

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