I recently discovered Anthony DeStefano one day as I was working here in my little corner office with a view ;o) and I was so impressed with his beautiful little book on prayer for children. As we emailed back and forth a few times, I asked him if I could share his book with my readers . . . . and so, I have two of his books to GIVE AWAY! One will be given-away here on my personal blog, and one will be given away on the Ruby for Women blog.
All you have to do to participate in the give-away is leave comments here on this blog as well as on the Ruby for Women blog. In celebration of lots of things, the give-away will run for the entire month of March, so of course the more comments you leave here and there, the better will be your chances of winning! So, before I give you a bit more information about Anthony's wonderfully written and illustrated book that you might be receiving, let me tell you what we're celebrating ;o) First of all, it is almost SPRING! That is definitely something to be celebrated this year, for sure, with all of the snow we've had around here. We are all very ready for the delightful, sweet-smelling, warm breezes of spring. Secondly, we are celebrating Anthony's new book! This is his first children's book and that is certainly something to celebrate.
And finally, (well, just for today "finally") we are celebrating my new job as Editor-in-Chief of Ruby for Women. Although this is currently a small online Christian women's magazine, the previous editor, Karen, and all of the writers have already produced an absolutely wonderful magazine! I am honored to have this opportunity to work with such a great team of writers! Our goal is to expand our audience of readers by continuing to offer many of the same great articles that have previously been part of Ruby for Women, and we are hoping to expand the topics included in each issue to provide something of interest to all women in all stages of life. But for now, here's a bit about Anthony DeStefano and his recently published book, This Little Prayer of Mine:
"This Little Prayer of Mine - my very first children's book - will be on book shelves February 16th. My own little prayer right now is that children and their parents will respond to it the same way adult readers did to my first two books, "A Travel Guide to Heaven," and "Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To." In those books, I tried to distill complex theological subjects and make them as simple and easy-to-understand as possible, without in any way compromising Christian theology. That's basically the same thing I did in This Little Prayer of Mine. Adults who read this book might recognize the foundational tenets of faith, like placing trust in God in all things, being grateful for blessings, being generous to those who are in need. In simple language and rhyme, children can absorb those lessons, too, while also learning how easy and natural prayer can be. After all, when you come down to it, prayer is just a simple, heartfelt conversation with God.
I firmly believe the greatest gift you can give a child is the gift of prayer. As children grow up and learn about loss and grief and pain, the ones who knowthey can turn to God in prayer at any time will always get through the suffering of course, but it will give them hope. That's the difference between believers and non-believers. Believers suffer, too - but they suffer with hope. And that's exactly what you give children when you teach them to pray early - the gift of hope. For this book, I teamed up with the incredible illustrator Mark Elliott, whose work can be seen in the "Princess Tales" series. I wanted art work that was a little bit reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. I think children will identify with the pictures - especially the funny ones. I'm very fortunate to have received some high-level praise for the book in advance of publication. For instance, the book has already been officially endorsed by the National Day of Prayer; and Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Corretta Scott Kind has that the book is a springboard for helping children establish a relationship with God."
This is truly a beautiful book, and it would make a perfect gift for your child or grandchild. Especially as we celebrate springtime and all of the joy, wonder, and blessing that is the Resurrection, teaching our children to pray to our Heavenly Father is truly a gift that will last for eternity. If you would like more information about This Little Prayer of Mine, visit Anthony's blog or find the book at Amazon.com. Have a blessed day, and remember you could win a copy of this book just by commenting here on my blog or the Ruby for Women blog (or both!) between now and the end of March. The more the merrier! ;o)
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