Christie Thomas
It's common for kids to memorize the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, goodness, self-control, and all the rest. But that doesn't mean they understand what it means. Is peace just not fighting with your siblings? Does self-control mean resisting a second dessert? When Mom and Dad explain these concepts just in terms of morality, we miss the mark. Christie Thomas is skilled at taking complex ideas and making them accessible to kids . . . and adults learn a lot along the way too. Each of her devotions is designed to help parents connect their children with the Holy Spirit through a Scripture passage, thought-provoking questions, ways to apply each verse, and a prayer. And for each fruit, parents can use the optional hands-on activities when there's extra time. These 100 devotional experiences include illustrated examples of each fruit of the Spirit. They demonstrate the hands, heart, and habits of Jesus and also teach children to spend time with the good God who loves them. By understanding how he covers them with his goodness and how his Spirit helps them grow their own beautiful, Jesus-reflecting character, the whole family will connect to the Vine and grow abundant fruit together. http://littleshootsdeeproots.com

Nathan Penny was not raised in at Christian home but did attend his 1st Communion. As a teenager he turned to parting and drugs, which continued into his college years. While working as a bartender, he met a co-worker whom he started a relationship with. Her father was a pastor, but she wanted to be with someone not like her father at all. They had a child together and later married. They would visit her parents occasionally and attend church where his father-in-law was the pastor. During one of those visits, he was given a book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It stayed by his bedside for many months. One night when he couldn’t sleep, he started reading the book. While reading the book, he became convinced that Jesus was Lord and the scales had been removed from his eyes and he was amazed to see the Jesus was real. http://hopeoakville.ca