Welcome to the November
2014
Dernier Publishing
newsletter!
We
are creators!
We
are children of a creator God, and I’m a firm believer in being
creative – it’s part of the awesome privilege we have of being
made in His image. If we have been given a gift I believe we should
use it to honour God who gave us this ability. Some people love
creating a garden, others a website. Others love to sew, paint,
stick, make things from wood, make music or delicious meals. Others
love to write. All these things are wonderful gifts from God that we
can use to serve others. But we have to learn our craft. If we want
to produce pretty much anything of value, we need someone to show us
how to do it, people to encourage us (even our first feeble efforts!)
and we need to stick at it and not give up when the going gets tough.
(The photo is of a friend from DR Congo – I showed her how to make
English cakes!)
This
isn't the first time I have mentioned
Write
for a Reason –
a
course I set up for Christian writers
who
write, or want to write, fiction for 8-14s. There are also lots of
free writing tips on the Write
for a Reason
website!
Why not take a look, or point a writer friend there? What
greater joy could there be than for us to point the way to Jesus
through our gift of writing? Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few. We can be workers in this harvest with our
writing. Books
change lives . . . More details here: Write for a Reason
If
you're not a writer, what is your creative gift? Are you using it to
bless others? :-)
Sad
figures
I
found this statistic recently and jotted it down (sorry I have
forgotten where I found it): “Between 1990 and 2020 the UK church
is predicted to have lost 1.1 million children from
congregations.” If true, this is an alarming statistic. 1.1
million children lost from church! Here's another really
sad statistic tweeted by the NSPCC a couple of weeks ago: "We
are receiving more calls than ever before to ChildLine from children
who are feeling suicidal." Doesn't that make your
heart ache?
Jesus
said, “I will build my church.” Nothing will stand against him,
but in some incredible way He wants us to do our bit.
Do
you know a child who might be finding life tough? Could you buy them
a Christian book? Or perhaps you could organise to buy books for all
your Sunday School or Kids Club this Christmas – children who seem
to be walking the right path also need encouragement to stay on it!
Or could you offer two or three books as raffle prizes for a village
or church Christmas fete, give gifts to neighbours' children,
sponsored kids abroad . . . The message of Jesus brings hope,
life and light, even in the deepest darkness. Let's spread that hope,
light and life this Christmas, because we can, and
because it is our responsibility to do so. Imagine a
life changed, through a book you gave.
That's
awesome.
Fabulous
initiative 1: please pray!
I
had a lovely email from Mary Weeks Millard a few days ago. She says,
“The churches in Weymouth are presenting an event
called ‘Silent Night’ on Dec 4th;
carols in the local football stadium to remember the
WW1 Christmas Truce. Taking part will be a choir from
years 5 and 6 in the local primary
schools. At the moment 6 schools have opted to take part and the
special school will also be taking about 6 children. It will be about
another week before numbers of participants are known; it could be
100+. The Lord has really put it on my heart that it would be good to
give each child taking part a copy of ‘A
Pennyworth of Peppermints’.
The celebration is right, the location and the also the age group of
the children. I feel that I should go ahead in faith - the organizer,
Rev. Anni Douglas is thrilled with the idea as is the choir mistress
(who attends our church). I am hoping that maybe church members in
the town would feel they could sponsor a book.”
Please
do pray for this initiative and the children who will receive this
book with its message of God's love and forgiveness. If you are
organising an event and would like to buy a quantity of books please
let me know; firstly as I can offer quantity discounts (as can most
local Christian bookshops), and also so we can back you in prayer. I
look forward to hearing from you!
Fabulous
initiative 2: please pray!
A
teacher at a local primary school is going to start up a book club at
her school with books that have Christian characters! How wonderful
is that! Please pray for new children to hear and respond to the good
news of Jesus through these books. Thank you!
Christmas
online catalogue
This
is the link to our online Christmas catalogue:
Please do take a look yourself and forward it now to as many people you can think of who just might be interested, because it might be exactly what they are looking for, for a grandchild, nephew, niece, Sunday School or children's friends. Thank you very much for your help!
Next
year
I
have so many plans for next year, and want to make it the best ever,
but I need your help. More than anything else I ask
for your prayers for
Dernier. I would like
to bring out five books next year – some in paperback, some in
digital format. More news in January in about
that, but please would
you start praying now, as I
begin to get
organised? I would appreciate that more than you know. If
you join us on facebook, you can keep in touch with news as it
happens: Dernier Publishing's Facebook Page.
Hope to see you there!
Right, lots to do, I'd better get on with it – may the Lord bless you and keep you.
Kindest
regards,
Janet
PS
Don't forget to check out our online catalogue :-)
http://www.flipgorilla.com/p/23735439970010745/show
