Blog

As a homeschooling veteran, I review middle-grade stories to help parents, librarians, and teachers choose good books.

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Jerram Barrs on the importance of story

Jerram Barrs, a professor at Covenant Theological Seminary, thinks we need to be reading stories. But not just any stories.

“The greatest stories not only entertain and enlighten us, but also teach us something about who we are–and how we fit into God’s True Story of a redeemed creation.” That’s from an article just published in the seminary’s magazine, Covenant, fall/winter 2011, p. 10. He goes on to quote Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories,” and urges us to read not only the gospel story but “many other stories as well that echo its joy and hope.”

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The Writer, Your Servant

I had a big hurdle to get over when it came to becoming a writer—someone who wrote seriously and often, as opposed to someone who just scribbled down thoughts now and again or played endlessly with stories in her head.

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Replication by Jill Williamson, a review

Abby Goyer’s not too happy when her scientist father moves her to Alaska from Washington, D.C. He’s secretive about his new job, and that bothers her too, especially based on his history of working in a lab that was trying to clone human embryos for use in cancer research. She’s a Christian, and she wishes he would see the light.

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Angels among us: what are they like?

I’m reading a book by Billy Graham summarizing what the Bible says about angels. Here’s a quote: “While angels have tremendous authority, it is limited to doing only the will of God. They never deviate from God’s message, never dilute His message, never change God’s plan. Throughout the ages they have glorified only Him, never themselves.”

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