Blooming June!

Welcome to the June 2014

Dernier Publishing newsletter!

Plant seeds, or weeds will grow!

 

If we don't plant seeds, weeds will grow on their own, with absolutely no effort on our part. All we need to do for weeds to take over is . . . nothing.

Planting seeds, of course, takes time and effort, and there's always the risk that all might be wasted; that they won't come up. We may also have to wait ages to see any signs of life. And we may have to keep watering and weeding with just the hope that one day the seeds will grow into beautiful flowers.

But there will be a reward for those who bother. OK, so not all the seeds we sow are likely to come up. But we must not give up. The law of probability (and the book of Ecclesiastes!) tells us that the more seeds we sow, the more we are likely to reap. We do not know which seeds will grow and which will not, so the thing is to sow, and sow, and keep on sowing, as much as we can, as long as we can.

See these beautiful poppies? My daughter gave me a packet of seeds last year. I prepared the ground, sowed them, and waited. Now I am reaping the rewards! Suppose I hadn't bothered? I would have a patch of weeds instead. The seeds could easily have stayed in the packet, forgotten in a drawer. I would never have had the pleasure of these beautiful blooms – and I would never have known what I was missing.

Our books are a bit like seeds. Some will bear fruit, some may not. We might see the results, or we might send them out to bloom elsewhere. Some might bear fruit that will change whole families, and their seeds will grow seeds that will go on spreading and blooming, year after year!

The consequences could be eternal. The question is, will we bother? If we don't, we will never know what we are missing.

Dare you take the Christian Parenting Challenge?

 

Thank you to all who have prayed for the Christian Parenting Challenge, and for those who have sent in reviews. Much appreciated! If you're not sure what it's all about, you can watch this little clip: http://youtu.be/pRKLtU_KYWo (YouTube)

Or you can buy the kindle book from Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christian-Parenting-Challenge-challenges-relationship-ebook/dp/B00JOFPABQ

The ebook version hasn't quite made it to our website yet, but it will soon! We are hoping that sales of this resource will help to fund more books, so we all win!

Here are a couple of reviews: “This is an EXCELLENT resource, and I would be happy to recommend it to families.” - Lucy

''I loved the parenting challenge. I am a mum of three and I homeschool my children so we spend a lot of time together. However, it is easy to get wrapped up in the day to day routines, 'to do' lists, appointments and schedules. I found the parenting challenge helped remind me of the value of doing simple small things to show my family how much I love them. To stop and take time to do things that create memories, bring smiles and connect us on a deeper level. I shared it with my friends and through Sunday school too. '' - Michelle

Bookshop Corner!

Many thanks once again to everyone who has prayed for the distribution of our books to Christian bookshops. I am delighted to tell you that we now have a solution . . . Hughes and Coleman are going to be representing us within the wholesale trade. Norman Nibloe from Tonbridge Christian Book Centre, recommended them to me. He assured me that they are lovely people with a real ministry motive. Four reps will be taking our books to shops all around the UK and Ireland from 1^st July. I hope to be able to give you some photos in due course! Please pray for the smooth taking over of operations, which we trust will be beneficial to all . . . truly we are stronger when we work together.

Spreading wings

I have made a few contacts recently which might make possible the availability of our books in Asia, Africa and the US. This is a breathtaking vision – but we have a big God for whom nothing is impossible! Please do pray for all these various contacts . . . please pray for wisdom in making decisions, and above all that many, many more children will be able to receive the 'message in a story', wherever they live in the world.

Camps, clubs, Sunday schools and kids clubs

Sending good Christian books home with children is akin to sending a good nourishing meal! Of course, cost is a factor, but still, could you find out if your church or organisation would like to give out our books as gifts, prizes and presentations? The potential is enormous. Please do forward our online catalogue to as many people as you can!

http://www.flipgorilla.com/p/23023990364721927/show

Incidentally, we do quantity discounts for schools, charities and churches - contact me for more info!

Running out of room but I must just tell you . . .

 

A Pennyworth of Peppermints is selling well! Schools are beginning to take it up as a class reader, with its topical content (WWI) – please keep praying, as I know you do, for all the children who read our books, that the Lord will open hearts and minds. Some children who read this book might never hear the gospel another way. We have had some wonderful reviews of this story – pop over to our facebook page (www.facebook.com/DernierPublishing) where you can keep in touch daily!

With grateful thanks for your support,

Janet

P.S. Don't forget to forward the catalogue to all your friends!http://www.flipgorilla.com/p/23023990364721927/show

Dernier Online Catalogue!

We have a new online catalogue! It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord has had his hand on Dernier, ever since the beginning. Now we have an incredible thirteen books, and have begun selling eBooks, to reach the growing generation of children who are now reading on their i-pads and kindles at an ever-younger age.

Click here to see the catalogue!

If you are looking for children's books for prizes, presentations, giveaways at children's clubs and holiday camps and to send to English-speaking schools you support abroad . . . look no further! Oh, and of course you might need books for your own children :-) (Hint: pass the catalogue on to grandparents!) Do take a look and pass on to your local Christian bookshop, church minister and children's workers, your local Christian school, and anywhere there are children! All books have as their aim to encourage and inspire. Whole families have been touched through our books . . . words are powerful and the Lord is at work :-)

Do take a look and tell me what you think!

May the Lord bless you and all the children on your heart.

Janet

May good news from Dernier Publishing!

Christian kids books – a niche product?

Last month I said that our books are a niche product. I really don't know what made me say that! It's true that the number of people who buy Christian books for children is small (which is why you are very much appreciated!), but actually, our target readers are huge in number. There are around 4,000,000 children in the UK who fall into our target reader age group. Yup, 4 million! And as for overseas . . . there are millions of English-speaking children who go to Christian schools, camps and holiday clubs and who attend Sunday Schools in parts of Africa, in India and all over the world . . . just imagine how wonderful it would be if all these children had the opportunity to read the 'message in a story' to encourage and inspire them to walk with God! It is our aim to reach as many of them as we can. Alone we can't do very much. Together we can make a difference :-) Please keep standing with us; we need you. The needs are urgent.

News on A Pennyworth of Peppermints

This book is beginning to sell well! One supporter said to me in an email, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if you had to reprint the book because you sold all 1000 of the books?'. Indeed it would! Would you pray and work with us to that end? :-) We have a long way to go to reach that target, but nothing is impossible if we pray and work together! If you have contact with a school who might present this lovely book to school leavers, or use it for class readers, or buy some for their libraries, please do pass their details on to us, or our details on to them! We will have a 20% of 20 books discount offer on our website soon, for churches, schools and charities, hoping that that will help us to reach more children.

As the book is set in WW1, A Pennyworth of Peppermints has educational appeal as well as being a fun and inspirational story. If you want to buy a copy for your own children (nieces, nephews, school, kids club etc!) you can do so here: www.dernierpublishing.com/penpep.php or go to your local Christian bookshop, who would be delighted to help you.

News on audio versions of Deepest Darkness

Sadly, sales of the CD and DVD versions of Deepest Darkness have been disappointing. It's a shame, because this is such a lovely story, and Denise (author) does come over really well, narrating her story in an engaging manner. If you have children who do not enjoy reading, or if you are looking for a gift for an 8-11 year-old, or if you have a journey coming up and need a bit of distraction, this could be just the thing for you! You can order audio CDs and audio-visual DVDs here: www.dernierpublishing.com/mmedia.php (DVDs are Denise being filmed reading, as well as recorded. Anyone remember Jackanory? :-)) 

Deepest Darkness is a wonderful family story of freedom from fear.

Does your church give away Sunday School prizes?

Perhaps in the past your church used to give away books, but gave up when many children became more interested in computer games? Now many kids are reading again, some devouring books at such a pace that their parents have a hard job keeping up! Some children will read a Christian book when they wouldn't normally read. I know I've given these testimonies before, but if you need any ammunition to persuade your minister/treasurer that buying books for children is a great use of outreach budget, please do feel free to print these and use however you see fit :-)

“One lady who lives 17 miles away from church, came on Sunday. She came because she had read her son's book.”

“It's now several weeks since we presented the books to our children in Kidz Church. I asked how they were getting on with them. They were very enthusiastic and have been swapping them round when they've finished their own. Most of these kids are reluctant readers, too.”
“My niece, aged 15, not overly academic, read her book right through last night and loved it. I think it's the first time in her life that she's read a whole book from choice!”

"Ben doesn't read books but he read this one."

There's no doubt that books change lives (well, the Lord changes lives, but he seems to use books a lot!) Getting the word right into children's homes is exciting - a fab way to keep the message alive after the meeting/event/holiday club is over, and to reach, encourage and inspire whole families. 

Let me know if there's anything we can do to help you reach the children on your heart!

With grateful thanks once again for your support,

Janet

P.S. Please do join us in praying for the children who are already reading our books, that the Lord will touch their hearts and lives. Every life is so precious.

Welcome to the April Dernier Publishing newsletter!

Help, there's no way through!

No way out?

You know how sometimes there just doesn't seem to be a way through? Whether it's a family, financial, work, church or health issue, we all face crises from time to time where there just doesn't seem to be a solution.

You see these two pictures? I was walking on this muddy path in the woods towards what seemed to be a fence . . . no way through! But in fact, there was a way through. I just couldn't see it until I was right on top of it!

Ah, there is a way!

In the same way, we need to 

keep walking by faith. Even when we can't see an ending, or a solution, we just need to keep trusting, because if we are heading in the right direction, the Lord will always make a way where there seems to be no way. Nothing is too difficult for him!

At Dernier we have had a few sticky months, with all sorts of difficulties, delays and frustrations with our long-awaited new book, A Pennyworth of Peppermints and the CD and DVD versions of Deepest Darkness. Please pray for us, that we will keep walking (for us that means publishing!), so we can keep reaching out to children with the good news. Thank you for your kind support. :-)

A Pennyworth of Peppermints

A spy story set in the First World War

Hurray, hurray, hurray, this lovely story is finally at the printers! Isn't that a fab illustration by artist John Raymer? :-)

A Pennyworth of Peppermints is a spy story, set in the First World War. While collecting driftwood on their local beach in Dorset, Ben and Sidney find a message in a bottle washed up on the shore. The message is written in rhyme – is it just a poem? Through a series of adventures, the boys, along with Sidney's sister, Vera, discover that there is much more to the message than meets the eye . . .

This delightful story captures a little of what life was like for families living through the Great War, and how faith in God can make a difference, whatever the circumstances.

We have already had some reviews! Here are a couple:

“It was epic..... It helped me understand what life was like as a child in WW1..... It reminded me that God is interested in helping us through tough times.” - Florence

“Cool, interesting, exciting.... It was a great book! I liked it that the children were detectives! I liked that it said Jesus is always with me.” - Joseph

Florence and Jo's mum said, “It has been lovely and special, reading a book together, a lovely change to read a book teaching morals and biblical truths in a way that's engaging.”

This book isn't quite on the website yet, but will be very soon. Do you have contact with a Christian school or children who are home-schooled? Would you be kind enough to let them know about the book? It is the perfect novel for schoolchildren to study as class readers, prizes and/or library books in this 100^th anniversary year of the outbreak of the First World War. Wouldn't it be great for more children to read about how Jesus is with them, whatever difficulties they are facing?

A huge thank you to all who bought books for Kisumu children in Kenya!

A couple of weeks ago I delivered the books you donated to Cherry Brierley, whose husband, Peter, has now taken them to give to Kisumu children. Cherry was delighted to receive the books - she told me the children will be thrilled with them. I did wonder if it would add rather to Peter's baggage, but Cherry told me firmly that the books will be a priority. How wonderful that we can work together in this way to help children in difficult circumstances. If we all do our bit, we can often make a way where there seems to be no way! Do pray for the children who will read the books. Some are orphans, some have desperate family situations.

Are your children safe online?

This book comes highly recommended for anyone who is concerned about the safety of their children online. It helps parents to be aware of the dangers, and to be able to safely guide their children through the maze of the Internet. Dr. Bex says, ‘In the same way as you’re beside your child when they learn to crawl, walk and ride a bike, right up to when they learn to drive, you have to teach them to respect the digital environment, look for the opportunities and be aware of the potential dangers. Talk to them about what they are seeing and experiencing, give them freedom within boundaries as you would in any other space.’ You can buy the book from any Christian bookshop.

Audio and eBooks

3 x CDs; you'll love it!

I sent out an email a little while ago asking if you would be kind enough to support our kindle books. Many thanks to those who bought the book/s and wrote reviews on Amazon– your support is much appreciated! I am going to leave the price at just 75p-ish for a few more days, just in case you meant to buy and didn't get round to it! And you can now buy the audio CDs and DVDs of Deepest Darkness through our website or from Christian bookshops. If you have a car journey coming up, this would be a great investment :-) Click here for the audio version of Deepest Darkness!

Michele Guinness bought The Birthday Shoes!

Michele and me!

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at a meeting where Michele Guinness was doing a book signing. (Thanks to Norman Nibloe of Tonbridge Christian Book Centre for inviting me.) Michele gave an entertaining talk about her new novel, Archbishop; I was delighted when she bought a copy of 'The Birthday Shoes' for her granddaughter (you can just see the corner of the book in the photo!).

If you would like me to come and speak to your group and share the Dernier vision, just Contact Janet as usual!

Well I think I've gone on enough! Hope you all have a wonderful Easter, celebrating our gracious Saviour.

Janet

P.S. Don't forget your audio book! Click to our website for the CDs!

Sex education for six-year-olds

So, six-year-old children are being given sex education, and children at secondary schools are being offered tests for sexually transmitted diseases in lunch time and after school clinics. This is apparently a response to high pregnancy rates.

Click here to read the Christian Institute article

We need to fight back for our children's lives. What can we do?

I suggest three things:

Pray.
We need to pray for the children in our families, for our church children, our friends' children, our children's friends, the children who attend our local schools, children in homes and schools we sponsor, or have links with. We need to pray for our minster's children, for missionary kids, for children in our town, in the UK, all over the world.


Put up our shields!  
We need to be pro-active in protecting our own families. If anything unsuitable comes on the TV, we should turn it off. We need to be a good example, and be watchful for those we are responsible for. We need to keep an eye on what is being beamed into our own homes. We need to keep computer screens where we can see them. We need to keep lines of communication open, and talk about issues as they come up. We need to start today, and stay vigilant. We can campaign with Care for the Family, Christian Institute and other charities/organisations that work for young people.


Get out our swords!
We need to give our children good Christian alternatives to the things that are bombarding them from all around, to fill their minds with good things and make sure they know what is good. We need to read Bible stories/Scripture verses with them, talk about the things of God, buy them Christian stories, music and DVDs. 


If you have 10-14 year-old girls, you might like to give them the excellent, relevant and fun Beech Bank Girls books by Eleanor Watkins. These stories, written from a Christian perspective, face all sorts of issues by six young teens, including friendships. You can buy them from your local Christian bookshop, or from following this link:  Dernier Publishing




May the Lord keep your children safe.


Janet









 

Let's fill our kids' minds with good things!

So, it has been proven by this three year study, that kids really do act aggressively after playing violent computer games:

Iowa State University Study

Something else really interesting that this study brings out:

"An earlier study, carried out by the same team, found that computer games, films or TV programmes which show positive actions also influence behaviour."

Let's fill our children's minds with good things - give them good, relevant, fun Christian alternatives!

 
Janet



Dernier Publishing books