FUN NEWS: There’s a THIRD Tender Heart Book on the Way!

This painted rock that I spotted in Surf City, NJ a couple of summers ago is the perfect visual for my latest fun news—there’s going to be a THIRD book in the MY TENDER HEART series published by Paraclete Press!

So, just why is that painted rock such a perfect image? It’s perfect because this series is truly a project from my heart and one which I hope touches others’ hearts as well. Indeed, my prayer from the very beginning has been that first, MY TENDER HEART BIBLE, followed by MY TENDER HEART PRAYER BOOK and now MY TENDER HEART DEVOTIONS will bless families, churches and schools everywhere—pointing tender hearts to Jesus. 

The seeds for these three books were planted in my heart when my own kids were little and I longed to teach them about God’s love and the wonderful, redeeming hope we have in Jesus. But often, at the end of the day, I was so tired. What I really wanted was something that would be easy to pick up and share, and that I could be confident was biblically sound and engaging. 

Thinking that other parents might be experiencing similar exhaustion, yet longing, I intentionally planned for all three of these books to be easy for tired parents to pick up and share with their children, knowing that they could count on each to be engaging, thoughtful faith conversation starters. That’s why each bible story, prayer and devotion is accompanied by easy-to-find Bible citations, so you can look up God’s very word with your children, beautiful illustrations with lots to ponder (thank you, Sandra Eide!), and Heart Moments of prayer and action so kids can connect and respond to God’s love and God’s truth.  

If you haven’t checked the books out yet, I hope you will. Start with MY TENDER HEART BIBLE, which is out now.  Then, in September, continue nurturing the tender hearts in your life with MY TENDER HEART PRAYER BOOK which is available for preorder now. Next fall, you can look forward to MY TENDER HEART DEVOTIONS.

Here are the announcements.  Squee! 

From PublishersMarketPlace: 

And from Publisher’s Weekly announcement:

Finally, did you know that the MY TENDER HEART series has its own little home on the web where you can download activity kits, learn about events and more? Check it out at MyTenderHeartBooks.com

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Five Fun Facts about FRUIT FULL with Christie Thomas

Today I am delighted to have Christian children’s author Christie Thomas as my guest. She’s here today to share five fun facts about her newest release with Kregel Publications, FRUIT FULL: 100 Family Experiences For Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit. This is just the kind of resource I would have LOVED when my kids were little and it’s a wonderful resource for anyone in Christian family ministry. Here’s an excerpt from the official description:

“Christie Thomas is skilled at taking complex ideas and making them accessible to kids . . . and adults learn a lot along the way too. Each of her devotions is designed to help parents connect their children with the Holy Spirit through a Scripture passage, thought-provoking questions, ways to apply each verse, and a prayer. And for each fruit, parents can use the optional hands-on activities when there’s extra time.”

Sounds great, right? And now for FIVE FUN FACTS about the book from the author herself.

Five Fun Facts about FRUIT FULL with Christie Thomas

Fun Fact #1: Fruit Full led me full circle to a lovely editor I had connected with in 2016. She really liked another project of mine, but we fell off each other’s radars. Four years later, she had moved to another publisher and the proposal for Fruit Full came across her desk. She recognized my name and now here we are in 2022 with a book!

Fun Fact #2: With my previous devotional book, I read every one of the devotions with each 3 of my boys because it was a new way of writing for me and I wanted to make sure I wrote on their level. With Fruit Full, I had less time to write and more devotions to write, so each of my boys heard about 40% of the book. It’s fun to read it with them now, because it’s fresh for all of them! 

Fun Fact #3: There’s one story in the book where I explained how my apple tree didn’t even flower for several years, and I later discovered it was because I had given it the wrong fertilizer. I didn’t say it in the book, but the wrong fertilizer…was urine! I had been asking my potty-training boys to pee near the tree when in the backyard for years because I thought it would be good for the tree. Turns out, urine has a lot of nitrogen, which is perfect for leaf growth but too much can stunt flowering and fruiting. Oops! 

Fun Fact #4: I originally wanted to add a hands-on family activity to each devotion, but we realized it would make it feel too overwhelming for families. Instead, we put a list of simple activities at the beginning of each section for families to pick and choose from when they had time. 

Fun Fact #5: There’s a smaller devotional book tucked inside Fruit Full. At the end of each fruit-themed section (Love, Joy, Peace, etc) there are three devotions specifically on the Easter part of Jesus’ life. These could be tied together for a shorter, 27-day reading plan specifically connected with Easter.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Christie. I know your book will be a blessing to many. And I have one closing question for our readers. Which fact was your favorite? (I’m partial to #3 and I also love how Christie’s kids are involved in her devotional writing process.)

Christie’s books are available wherever books are sold.

Connect with Christie on her other platforms:

Website: https://littleshootsdeeproots.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristieThomasLittleShoots 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littleshootsdeeproots/?hl=en 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/cthomaswriter/ 

BIO: Christie Thomas is a homeschool mom of 3 and former Children’s Ministries Director. She is the author five books for Christian kids, including Quinn’s Promise Rock  and The Mother and Son Prayer Journal. Her newbook, the Christ-centered devotional, Fruit Full: 100 Family Experiences for Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit, waswritten over many late nights beside a cold cup of blueberry tea. She lives in Western Canada and spends her time homeschooling, digging in the garden (when it’s not under 2 feet of snow) and equipping Christian families to disciple their kids.