Just Be Honest: How to Worship through Tears and Pray without Pretending, Clint Watkins (Good Book Company, 2024) When suffering or deep pain strikes, how do you respond? Or, more to the point, how do you think you should respond as a Christian? For many, we suspect we are supposed to push on, finding ways to rejoice and be thankful. We think we’re meant to declare God’s goodness and sovereignty, but in this awful situation we can’t see how God is good or could allow this to happen. We feel we should pray polite prayers for God to help us, yet our hearts are crying out, “Why me, God?” We ga ..read more

Transformative Friendships, Brad Hambrick (New Growth Press, 2024)  Have you ever wished that your friendships were deeper? That you were able to share more honestly with each other, both the joys and the challenges that you each face? Our inbuilt human desire for connection with others means that many of us do probably desire closer, more trusting and open friendships. But, we may not know how to move a friendship in this direction. We may have discovered that praying with a friend can strengthen a relationship, as we share more openly about the matters on our hearts and bring them to ..read more

The fairytale of the Jeweller and his Pearl, Raechel Joyce A local Adelaide author, Raechel Joyce, reached out to share her new self-published book with me. I’m glad she did.  There is a significant personal story behind it and there are numerous levels of meaning woven throughout. Written in the style of a fairytale and illustrated like a picture book by Jessica Scholich, it’s relevant for older children through to adults. A friendly and knowledgeable jeweller lives with his family in a small village. One day a stranger gifts him a special and precious pearl. Word of it spreads and m ..read more

You Are Welcomed: Devotions for when life is a lot, Trish Donohue (New Growth Press, 2023) This new devotional for women has been both an encouraging balm and challenging prompt to me over recent weeks. It’s structured to last for 10 weeks and is for women feeling burdened, overwhelmed and that life is all a bit too full. Which these days, is most of us! Each day starts with a prompting question, has a short bible reading, two pages of comments, and three questions to consider in more depth. It’s a simple, yet remarkably effective format. It’s also a visually attractive book, which would mak ..read more

The Pastor’s Kid, Barnabus Piper (The Good Book Company, 2020) This honest book about pastors kids (PKs) was recommended to us by one of our children. Barnabus Piper, son of John Piper (of Desiring God), has written about the unique challenges PKs face as the children of ministers. While he does talk about opportunities and positives, his purpose is really to explore the harder parts. “The life of a PK is complex, occasionally messy, often frustrating, and sometimes downright maddening. It can be a curse and a bain. But being a PK can also be a profound blessing and provide wonderful groundi ..read more

Something Scary Happened: Comfort for Children in Hard Times, Darby A. Strickland (New Growth Press, 2023)  This picture is for a specific situation - when something scary has happened to a young child and you want to help them process it and understand that God and his good shepherd Jesus are with them in their pain.  Miles the lamb has lots of fun in the meadow with his other lamb friends: they play soccer, they eat, and they all sleep in a pile together. But one day something scary happens, and Miles is so scared that he doesn’t know what to do, and pretends it didn’t happen ..read more

You are still a mother: Hope for women grieving a stillbirth or miscarriage, Jackie Gibson (New Growth Press, 2023) In this heartfelt and honest book, Jackie Gibson reaches out to mothers who have lost a child due to stillbirth or miscarriage, and shares the comfort and love of God who is with them in their pain. She begins by sharing the devastating story of the stillbirth of her daughter Leila, and so forms an immediate connection with the reader - this is someone who knows this sadness. Each brief chapter brings a truth about God to the fore, in light of such loss. These include: Cling ..read more

How Can I Feel Closer to God?, Chris Morphew (The Good Book Company, 2023) This has always been the ache of the human heart, that God feels far away when we want him to be close: Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? (Ps 10:1) O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! (Ps 71:12) The quick, snappy reply has often been, “If God feels far away, who moved?”, suggesting that any distance we feel from God is more about us, than him. While there is truth in this, it’s also a cognitive response that doesn’t fully address the heart issue ..read more

Valuable, Liz Carter (The Good Book Company, 2023) “God can use you.”  “God will use this for his good purpose.”  “You have great gifts—use them for God.”  “Jesus—use me for your kingdom.” This language echoes across our churches. We all want to feel useful, and using our productivity to serve God feels right. I mean—isn’t it biblical? We’re all part of the body, contributing in our own unique way (1 Cor 12:12-26). God can use us weak jars of clay for his purpose (Rom 9:21, 2 Cor 4:7, 2 Tim 2:21). But what about when we feel useless? When illness prevents any service in chur ..read more

Caring for Families Caught in Domestic Abuse: A Guide Towards Protection, Refuge and Hope, Chris Moles (ed) (New Growth Press, 2023)  This is another excellent resource, but one we all wish didn’t need to exist. Sadly, the stain of domestic abuse (or intimate partner violence, or family violence) spreads throughout families, and Christian homes are not untouched. It is edited by Chris Moles, who is a pastor, biblical counsellor, and works with perpetrators. He has brought together very experienced people in this field, providing a guide to care for families caught in domestic viol ..read more