Happy Hour #76 is with Sally Lloyd-Jones, the author of my most favorite children's book, The Jesus Storybook Bible. Seriously, before I go on, if you don't have a copy of this book in your home, stop what you are doing right now and order one here. I promise you, you will not regret it. Sally does an amazing job of illustrating how every story in the Bible points to Jesus. No matter how long you have been around church, or how familiar you are with the Bible, I am confident that this book will stir your affections for Jesus in a new way. And as a bonus, your kids will absolutely love it too!
In our conversation, Sally shares her background and how God used some pivotal experiences in her life to prepare and shape her to be an author. She talks about the process of writing for children and how it must be approached with as much excellence as writing for adults. This was so convicting to me. She talks specifically about writing for children, but I think this applies to all of our relationships with children – whether you are a mom, a teacher, a nurse, a Sunday school worker – our work with children deserves as much excellence as our work with adults. I think so often it is easy for us to give our kids whatever is left over from us, and Sally is challenging me (and all of us) to treat our work with children with more respect and excellence. And lastly, for those of you with creative spirits, Sally shares some valuable advice and tips that I think you'll find inspiring.
I announced last week that I am starting to write a book, so I found myself hanging on every word from Sally because I respect her and her work so much (and her accent is just gravy). I really hope you love our conversation as much as I did, and feel inspired and encouraged in whatever your current “assignment” is.
{You can listen to the show HERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}
Links from the Show
Jesus Storybook Bible's Illustrator : Jago
Skip to the Loo, My Darling's Illustrator : Anita Jeram
Andrew Peterson: Behold the Lamb of God
Jesus Storybook Bible's Audio Reader : David Suchet
Basic Christianity by John Stott + Slugs and Bugs by Randall Goodgame + Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
What Sally is loving: Brooklyn, Avocado Toast and The Bible in 90 Days
Connect with Sally
Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube
Sponsors:
Kurt Felsman
If you looking for more great meaningful worship music you must check out Kurt Felsman. He has been leading people in corporate worship for nearly 20 years and his heart is to see people experience the goodness and glory of God. Kurt is debuting his EP, Majesty and Mystery. It is both beautifully and biblically crafted and contains a collection of powerful songs designed to be sung. With soaring melodies and beautifully crafted musical elements, Majesty and Mystery will draw the listener's heart into worship.
Majesty and Mystery is available on iTunes, and all major music retailers. Also make sure you check out his website at www.kurtfelsman.com, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For the next few weeks he'll be giving away copies just for happy hour listeners, so make sure to follow and comment #thehappyhour and tag a friend on his post. You won't be sorry for adding this EP into your worship playlists!
Pine Cove
It's still winter(ish), but now is the time to be thinking about your summer plans and you must consider Pine Cove camps! Here’s why camp ministry is awesome: your kids get a whole week away from technology to be out in God’s creation, they get to be pushed out of their comfort zone with fun activities like high ropes courses, zip lines, and horseback riding. Pine Cove scours the nation for the most excellent, intentional, Jesus-loving college students to invest in your kids for a week as their counselors. We’ve sent our kids to Pine Cove for years now, and they always come back with so many stories of what they learned about the Bible and how they felt so loved by the staff. Pine Cove takes safety seriously, and as a mom myself I trust them completely with my kids. You can find out more information about Pine Cove on their website at pinecove.com.
Prep Dish
Prep Dish is a healthy subscription-based meal planning service. When you sign up, you'll receive an email every week with a grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. After a couple of hours on the weekend, you'll have all of your meals ready for the entire week. You'll save time and have some amazingly delicious meals like Smoky Paprika Chicken Legs with Roasted Carrots, Parsnips & Fennel or Turkey & Zucchini Lasagna. And, Allison is offering listeners a special rate of $4 for the first month – that's only $1/weekly meal plan! You can't beat that. Check out Prep-Dish for this amazing deal!
We LOVE the Jesus Storybook Bible! I even got one that was translated into Haitian Creole so that when we are FINALLY matched with a child, we can take it with us and read it during our socialization visit. And it’ll be great to have once we get to bring that child home with us forever. 🙂
I just listened to this today. What a beautiful soul Sally has. This is one of my favorite interviews. I was touched and inspired.
Oh! And, I am going to borrow my 12 year olds Jesus Storybook Bible and read it for myself. She thinks she’s “too old” for it right now anyway. 😉
OMG, I totally want a pocket-sized Sally Lloyd-Jones to have with me at all times. Could she be any more delightful? The accent, the wisdom, the warmth. I loved it all. I love her passion for excellence-especially in regard to literature and children. I also found myself challenged as I teach children once a week as part of BSF international. We’re in the home stretch and it is soooo tempting to give them what is left (plus also they are 2 1/2 years old and I can only sing Wheels on the Bus so many times, you know?)
Also, let’s talk about her response to you when you said you had 4 kids. Most of us would have been like, “oh bless your heart” and she said, “HOW LOVELY!” Such a small thing, but really made me think about how I respond to people.
AND, I wholeheartedly agree with what she said about your mad interview skillz (though because she is proper and British, she didn’t quite phrase it that way.) In the short time I’ve been listening to the podcast, I have really appreciated the way that you facilitate a true conversation-there’s give and take, you are really listening to your guests, you get right to the heart of things and you don’t make it about you. I don’t know you (though, we are besties already in my mind, btw), but this is clearly your gifting and you are flourishing in it.
True confession: I may or may not be practicing Sally Lloyd-Jones style for a day when I might possibly be on the Happy Hour 🙂