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Children’s Book Scavenger Hunt: Stop #6

Welcome to the Christian Children's Book Scavenger Hunt! If you are just joining us, please begin at LisaBergren.com to collect the clues in order, so you'll be in the running to win one of three sets of books and a children's Kindle Fire! The hunt runs from 9/13 at noon Mountain time until 9/15 at midnight Mountain. This contest is open to international entrants.

Three winners will receive:

FIRST PRIZE: All 12 books plus a Kindle Fire 7 for Kids!
SECOND PRIZE: All 12 books
THIRD PRIZE: All 12 books

There is no purchase necessary to win. But we do hope you write down titles that intrigue you to check out at the bookstore or library if you don't win!

My most recent picture book, NOTHING joyfully explores the promise that nothing can separate us from God's love. It's based on verses that I find to be some of the most reassuring in the Bible. 

Cover of picture book: Nothing (Nothing Can Separate You From God's Love)
Nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future thing, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. –Romans 8:38-39 CEB

3 Big Assurances for Little Hearts

I can remember as a young child having done something wrong shortly before bedtime, and going to bed upset about it. I lay in bed with a guilty and contrite heart worrying and waiting for my father to come tuck me in. I knew my father would forgive me for whatever it was I had done, but at that moment, everything felt unresolved and I didn't want to go to sleep with that feeling roiling around inside me. What a relief it was when my father came in. We prayed and talked about it, then he hugged and kissed me goodnight and said he loved me. A huge weight lifted from my heart. I was completely overwhelmed and started crying. Of course he still loved me. I knew that he would . . . yet it was still such a relief to hear him say it. Although my mind had known the truth of his love, my heart had been waiting for evidence of it through his words and actions. I was a child with loving parents who were affectionate and told me often that they loved me. A child who knew about unconditional love. But I still waited to hear those words. Today I don't even remember what it was that I did wrong that day, but I do remember the restoration that came when my father reassured me that he loved me. Through that I was able to catch a glimpse of God's overwhelming love for us.

NOTHING has three big assurances about love for children:

1. God’s love is everywhere. You can never go away from God's love - whether you dive under the ocean in a submarine or fly in a rocket to space! 

From Nothing, written by Natalee Creech, illustrated by Joseph Cowman. Published by WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. All rights reserved.

2. Nothing they do will change God’s love for them. NOTHING reassures children that God's love is not dependent on them doing the right things. God will not take his love away if (when!) they do something wrong. What a relief to know that God's love is unconditional, and that we can ask for forgiveness.

3. By extension, nothing they do will change their parent's love for them. This is not explicitly stated in NOTHING, but parents have told me it's the logical progression they talk about with their children. Not only does your heavenly Father love you unconditionally, ideally, so do your earthly parents. 

How fortunate that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

How will you demonstrate love today?

Natalee Creech is the author of WHEN DAY IS DONE (Beaming Books, 2019) and NOTHING (Worthy Kids, 2019) She lives with her husband, two children, and the sweetest cat ever in South Korea. ​​

NOTHING is available at your local indie bookstore (find one near you) Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book and wherever books are sold!

SCAVENGER HUNT CLUE TO WRITE DOWN: don't

LINK TO NEXT STOP IN THE HUNT: Head over to Amy Parker's site to read her post and collect the next clue in the hunt!

EXTRA PRIZE: If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you could win a writing journal, notebook, pen, and stickers from South Korea! Open to international entries. Enter now.


Children’s Book Scavenger Hunt: Stop #6 Read More »

Interview with Mindy Baker

Mindy Baker, author of Mouse’s Christmas Gift, recently interviewed me on her blog. Hop over here to check out that interview. You’ll discover which illustration from NOTHING is my favorite (and the substory it added) and find out which language NOTHING is going to be translated into! Mindy also reviewed NOTHING for a website called Christian Childrens Authors, and you can find that review here.

Interview with Mindy Baker Read More »

Tuesday Debuts with Susanna Leonard Hill

If you are interested in children’s literature you’ve probably checked out Susanna Leonard Hill’s website before. (She offers a class “Making Picture Book Magic” that I’ve heard great things about!) In fall of 2018 she added a new feature to her blog: Tuesday Debuts, where debut authors answer questions about their journeys to publication. I had the privilege to share a bit about When Day Is Done with her. Bonus – you’ll get to see a funny photo of me in fourth grade. Ah, the 80’s! Click here to read the interview.

Tuesday Debuts with Susanna Leonard Hill Read More »

Simply 7 Interview with Jena Benton

Pop on over to Jena Benton’s blog to catch a “Simply 7” interview with me and illustrator Robert Dunn. Jena is a writer and illustrator (and teacher) who lives in Alaska. Her husband is also a writer and his first picture book Pedro’s Pan just released in February. Click here to read the interviews. You’ll also get to see Oreo “helping” me write.

Simply 7 Interview with Jena Benton Read More »

Book Trailer for When Day Is Done

Things I learned when trying to make a book trailer:

  • imovie is great, unless you need to be very precise with where you put your text
  • you can spend a lot of time looking for workarounds
  • you can spend a lot of time looking for alternative programs after the aforesaid workarounds frustrate you as much as the original program
  • most alternative programs are limited in their features – you can only upload one photo at a time, they include a watermark, cost more than I’m willing to pay etc.

Finally I came across a solution that worked very well for me: Kinemaster. It’s an app, which meant I had to do everything on my tiny phone, but even so it was far less frustrating than trying to use imovie. I also found it to be much more versatile. I could precisely adjust the timing of slides/photos, cropping, whether it zoomed in or out, and where it zoomed to. I could add multiple text blocks on the same background and customize each one, changing fonts, size, text effects, and having different text blocks appear at different times. I paid $4.99 for a one month subscription to remove the Kinemaster watermark and considered it well worth the money.

Book Trailer for When Day Is Done Read More »

Cover for NOTHING

At long last here is the cover for NOTHING! The book jacket is going to have embossing on the title.

Although the cover is not yet showing on Amazon or other sites, the book is now available for pre-order.

Cover for NOTHING Read More »

Illustrator for Nothing! (Nothing Can Separate You From God’s Love)

I’ve been given the go-ahead to let you know that the illustrator for Nothing! is the talented Joseph Cowman! I’ve already been able to see rough sketches as well as a couple of completed spreads. Parents and children are both going to love the humorous details that Joseph has included. Here’s a link to his website: https://www.josephcowman.com/

Illustrator for Nothing! (Nothing Can Separate You From God’s Love) Read More »