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.