Valerie -Welcome to the Bookworthy podcast. I'm children's author, Valerie Fentress, and we are here to talk about Kid Lit that's good for your kids' hearts and souls. Kid Lit ranges from birth to teens, so there is a lot of shelf space to cover. Today, we're talking with Laura Sasse, the author of the Tender Heart Prayer Book from Peraclete Press. I had the pleasure of talking with Laura back in February over on Instagram Live about her Tender Heart Bible Board book that came out earlier this year, and I am so pleased to have her here on Bookworthy. Welcome, Laura.
Laura-I'm so happy to be here again, Valerie.
Valerie- I am so excited about this little book, but before we get talking about the book, we need to have a little talk about fall and autumn, because here in Texas, we're finally getting to fall. It's finally out of 100 degrees. And so I wanted to ask, are you a pumpkin spice fan or an apple cider fan?
Laura -That is an easy answer for me. I am definitely apple cider all the way. My whole family is. We buy it by the gallon.
Valerie -Oh, okay. That's funny because my husband is an apple cider fan and I'm a pumpkin spice fan. Just recently. So it's kind of go back and forth and have a battle in our home who's going to win the drink war. Too fun. Ooh, I like that too. That sounds delicious. Well, Laura, what are some of your favorite fall activities?
Laura -Well, probably not surprisingly, we love to go apple picking. I've been apple-picking with my kids every year since they were little. This will probably be, I don't think I'll be able to take them with me this year, but they're kind of old now. And I love, I actually love raking leaves and crunching through leaves. We have a lot of, we have a big maple tree behind us and a big oak tree and I like doing that.
Valerie -There's something cathartic about jumping in a pile of leaves and crunching, like a crunching sound. So very fun. Well, your Tinder prayer, its Tinder heart prayer book is the second in your kind of Tinder heart series. What inspired you to write a prayer book after the Tinder Heart Bible?
Laura - Okay, well, this is kind of interesting. So I was, I pitched a Bible book collection to Paraclete and they said to me, how about we make it a two book? And now it's a three-book, but let's add, would you do a prayer book? And of course, I said, yes, because prayer is so important and it was on my heart. I just didn't realize it. So it was a very short timeframe to write it, but that's how it came to be. And it was my joy last summer to write the 23. I actually wrote more prayers but there are 23 in the book.
Valerie -I love how you, with the Tender Heart Bible, take just those key stories throughout the Bible and just communicate that love of God and that love and worship that God has for us and that we can have for Him. And then here in the prayer book, you're showing us how we can worship and love God and not just at breakfast, lunch dinner, and bedtime, but throughout our day.
Laura -Exactly, just as the My Tender Heart Bible has those heart moments at the bottom that are prayers, this is sort of building upon that. So this is a whole book of prayers, but each one has an anchor Bible verse. And I wanted kids to, when my kids were little, like you said, we, you know, we prayed when I was little. We prayed at the dinner table, we prayed at bedtime, but God is with us all day and he loves it when we converse with him and when we reach out to him. Through all the ups and downs. So I wanted a fun way for little ones to be introduced to that. And their parents who are maybe so busy, can stop and pray with their kids too and be blessed.
Valerie -Agreed. Sometimes when you're in those early stages of parenting, their devotionals and books are what's feeding your heart. Definitely was in my story as well. What is it? As you were writing this prayer book, how did your prayer life change or be affected by spending this time writing prayers for children?
Laura - Well, I was writing them last summer and the writing of the prayer book really became my quiet time for the summer. And so I was praying, Lord, what prayer should I do? I was pouring through scripture to find just concrete examples where kids could see, you know, God's love and answers and wisdom from God in his word. So it did. It affected my prayer life in that. It just got me thinking about praying every day, all along the way. And I especially loved that every morning, I was able to sit out on my porch or wherever, and just be saturated with his word and with having fun writing the poems, the poem prayers.
Valerie -So fun. It's kind of one of those taking you to 1 Thessalonians 517, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, you know, for that's God's will for us. He knows if we are anchored in Him and in that constant communication with Him, we are going to listen better to Him and have a better perspective on our world, whether we're in a good time or a bad time. I think that's hard for kids to grasp at times.
Laura -It's hard for grownups to grasp. So, yeah. And so I wanted in the prayer book, there is like a prayer for it spans the emotions. There's the joy of waking up and then the prayer when you're feeling sad. And maybe when you have to go on errands with your mom and you're feeling a little bit bored. So just spanning those things, but you know, praying through all that.
Valerie -Truth. Ha ha ha. And what is it? I love that, you know, in the prayer when you're bored or kind of when you're in the car, you know, looking for opportunities to pray. And I don't think that's something we often talk about with our kids looking for opportunities to pray. And what is it? And when my kids were little, we would go, whenever we were in the car, and then whenever we saw a motorcycle driver that wasn't wearing its helmet, my kids are like, oh, we gotta pray for him. He's just not wearing a helmet. Like, let's do it. And so like every time an ambulance goes by with sirens, it's just fun to see them and their observations of their world be like, oh, I can pray for that.
Laura -Right, and to have the response to those moments be the first response be prayer. Yeah.
Valerie -What is it? Prayer is not a last resort. It's supposed to be our first response. And that's why I'm still working on that. Very true, very true. Well, in your family, I know you have a little bit older kid. How did you teach prayer in your home?
Laura -Well, we did pray when they were little every night at dinner. And we had a few favorites that were like the Johnny Appleseed prayer and some other prayers we prayed. But we always also went around the table, and each person said their word. So prayer was a conversation we were having with God. And I also found that in the car time was a good time to pray. And when we were upset, like if they were feeling really upset, it helped sometimes to kind of almost like calm the situation to pause and do like a deep hug and a prayer. Ha ha ha.
Valerie -Right. Let's reset our hearts here. So, yes, I know there's definitely sometimes where, you know, my kids will have me upset and they'll see me with my eyes closed and they're like, Mom, what are you doing? Like, I'm praying.
Laura -That's right. Sometimes it was for me if I was upset by something they had done. Alright, let's have a heart prayer right now. Yes, but I think we can model it by praying out loud with them and showing them that it doesn't have to be something I mean it can be something formal but it's also can be just a conversation with what's on your heart.
Valerie - Yeah, I love that. What is it? You know, prayer is not just about the words we say or when we say it, but just more of a posture of our heart. And that's something that I recently learned. And so, cause you know, and to teach that to my kids has been a fun challenge, you know, cause it's something that's been challenging in my own prayer life also.
Laura- And sometimes you can't find the words and that's okay too, because he understands the groaning and the, yes, so.
Valerie -Yes, yes. Yeah, we call those bullet prayers. So like just quickly, just help, just help. That's it. It doesn't have to be wordy and long. It can just be helpful.
Laura-Yeah. Yes, exactly. And then so many of the prayers are also thankful prayers, like giving in the book, giving thanks. So we're not always just, we're not, it's not just asking, it's thanking and seeing and recognizing God's wonder and the things that he has done and voicing that through prayer. I think that's, I mean, a lot of the culture has, our broader culture talks a lot about gratitude and naming gratitudes at night, but this is different than that because this is giving thanks to God. So although those gratitude things are good starting points, the talking about people like, well, who are you giving thanks to? Yes. So anyway, there's a lot of Thanksgiving in the book as well, giving thanks.
Valerie -Right, who are you thankful to here? I love that you have so many different types of prayers so that, you know, it's not formulaic, it's natural. And, you know, kids kind of are like, oh, so this is what prayer is. And, you know, it just opens them to the broader heart behind prayer, which I love. Well, Laura, if you could have one, I guess, communicate one thing to kids through this book, what would you hope that to be?
Laura -God loves us, God loves them, and God loves it when we connect with him through all the moments of our days. And he can handle anything, there's nothing we can, we don't need to hold anything back because he already knows it. And it's not something abstract, it's something that you do in your everyday. You can pray when you're getting dressed, pray when you're eating your breakfast, pray when you're in the car. That would be my, that was a long sentence, but God loves them and he loves to be in communion with us.
Valerie -Right, yeah, it's all about relationships. And that's why we have his word. That's why Jesus came so that we could have that relationship with him because we are so valuable to him. So I love that. Now we've kind of talked about a little bit of your author journey a little bit back in February, but when did your writing journey begin?
Laura -Oh, well, I've probably, golly, I've loved writing for a very long time. I have writing samples that my mother saved going back to when I was in first grade and second grade. So I guess you could say it began then. But I would say that my prayerful writing journey, like the one that I'm on right now, really began, the one with a heart for children and using my writing as a voice or as a witness when my kids were born. So, that dates back about, that's about 23 years. Ha ha ha.
Valerie -Yeah, it's amazing how God kind of switches. It's not that far. But no, it is interesting how when you have children, your whole perspective changes. Because I wrote fiction for adults prior to having kids. But golly, when my passion for a story, as well as my passion for my kids, collided, I was like, I love writing for kids and helping them see the world in new ways. And so that's fun.
Laura-Yeah, that's right. That's right. We share that, Valerie. Yes.
Valerie -We do. Kindred spirits, I know it. Laura, what is your favorite book other than the Bible?
Laura - What's my favorite book other than the Bible? I was gonna say the Bible is my favorite book, I know. So you know what? I love, right now I'm reading, and I've read it several times. Right now I'm reading Tim Keller's The Reason for God. And I think that I mean, it's hard for me
to say a favorite book, but I'd say that's a really timely book right now that is meaningful and pertinent, and I'm enjoying reading it again, and I'm actually reading it with a friend who is sort of searching, you know? And so it's just a great, it's a great sort of to have read that and have that, it's like a great tool to have in your, ready in your, toolkit or whatever when you're out in the world. So I would say that he's such a great, he was such a great, great godly, godly man. And he writes in a way that is accessible to everybody. So I would say that's my favorite grownup book other than the Bible. Of the, right now, I love to read. So it's hard to pinpoint that.
Valerie -I know it's hard to pick one and sometimes it is the one you are currently reading, but I love the fact that you're reading it with someone who's searching for the Lord. And that takes that book from a totally different perspective because you're seeing it from her side as well. And so without that knowledge and without that foundation, that must make it even more interesting. More of a ministry book in a sense. Very fun. We said this is your favorite adult book, so what is your favorite children's book other than your own?
Laura -Okay, well, so I'm gonna go middle grade here, but, cause it's just anything by Madeleine L'Engle. Her books are really, they got me thinking in new ways about God and, you know, the spiritual warfare, you know, just like she was so thoughtful. She was a Christian writer. So Wrinkle in Time, Meet the Austens, I, anything by Madeleine L'Engle, I would say would stand out. I still have them on my shelf.
Valerie - She is a common favorite. I was like, I thought, nope, okay. Maybe I'm dreaming of things that I wish I had on my shelf. Too fun. Well, Laura, what can we expect next from you? You said that there are three books in this Tinder Heart series.
Laura- Oh yes, so this spring I was working on a devotional. So, for toddlers and preschoolers, it's going to be 52 devotions. Each one has an anchor verse that's actually, it's gonna be printed in the book. Just because you know sometimes parents are so busy, it's nice to have it right there. A poem about a concrete, or familiar object or concept, and then that is the segue into a short, a short devotion. And then it wraps up with a heart moment. Again, they all have heart moments. So it's an activity or a response to deepen a child's understanding of that day's devotion. They can be read in any order, and it's called My Tender Heart Devotions, and it'll be out next October. So next year when we're sipping our cider, it'll be out.
Valerie - Oh, that's exciting. There you go. So fun. I love that you're really focused on these kinds of toddler preschool age and not shying away from talking about prayer and devotion. Cause when our kids get to school age, it can be easy to be like, oh, there seems to be a bit more devotionals available, but to have something for young kids. Yeah.
Laura -There aren't very many for little ones. Yeah, I think it's, and then when my kids were little, there weren't. So.
Valerie -Because what is it? Yeah, well it's one of those I know when I'm having my quiet time in the morning, I usually have a few books off to the side for my kids when they were little. It's like you can read these books while mom's reading the Bible, but I love that this would be, you know, both the Tender Heart Bible, the prayer book, and then a devotional that they can dig a little deeper. They can explore and the illustrations are so fun and inviting. So even if they're not looking at the words, just the kids and how they're interacting in the book. Can draw them in to sit and think more about what's going on in the picture.
Laura -And they can point to the different things. I mean Sandra did such a beautiful job of, I mean, the illustrations really do enhance the text and provide a chance to see, you know, like in the helping prayer, there's, you can see on the spread, well, how are the children in the spread helping and how can you help in the special helpers' prayer? And so it's a... Yeah, she did a, I feel so blessed that, and she's doing the third one as well. So they're all gonna be illustrated, all written by Laura Sasse and all illustrated by, all illustrated by Sandra Iaddy, so. Ha ha.
Valerie -So fun. Yeah, it's one of those, you have to have a combination of words and pictures for those young hearts and minds. And you've done a beautiful job with this pair. And I know the devotional will be at the same level for sure. Too fun. Oh, Ms. Laura, where can people find out more about you?
Laura -Yep. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. All right, so I have a blog slash website, so they can find me at laurassassietales.wordpress.com. For each of the books or the series, there's its own website, My Tender Heart Books, and that has downloadables for the books and things like that, so that's a great resource. So, I'm on social media, so I know we connected through Instagram, so at Laura Sassy Tales. I just made it easy. Tales not in like a cat's tail but T-A-L-E. Stories exactly.
Valerie -Stories, yes, stories. And it was, I love all the principles and resources that you and Peracleet have put together for these books. And you've done a great job over the summer kind of walking through your Tinder Heart Bible with young kids. And I just love your heart is not just for getting a book out but really to engage your kids and a love for God's word.
Laura -Yes, to make a difference. Yes, absolutely.
Valerie - Well, it has been a joy to have you here, Laura, and I look forward to what's your next book next year.
Laura -That's right. All right. Well, thank you so much for having me. This is lovely. I love that you do these podcasts. Wonderful.
Valerie - It is my pleasure. Thank you so much. And thank you for joining Laura and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Be sure to check the show notes about any books or links that we discussed, and be sure to let us know over on Instagram what your answer is to our fall question, pumpkin spice or apple cider. Then hit like and subscribe to help us discover more great books together.
Happy reading.
Comments