Today is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. If you keep up with what’s going on in North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, and a host of other nations, you know we have many brothers and sisters around the world who desperately need prayer.

Here are some facts about what’s going on today from the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church website:

Prayer is a mystery and difficult to measure. However, we can look at some of the changes occurring in the past and draw inferences from them.

Over 100,000 U.S. churches, representing nearly every U.S. denomination, are estimated to have taken part in the IDOP.

Christians in over 130 countries remembered the persecuted on the IDOP.

Christian churches are growing in awareness of the problem and coming together in unity to pray for fellow believers.

Christian leaders in restricted nations report that they are experiencing a new boldness in their witness to others.

There has been increased media coverage of the problem of persecution in both secular and Christian publications. (In the U.S., such publications include The Denver Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson, Christianity Today, and Message of the Open Bible.)

IDOP/USA staff participated in over 100 radio/TV interviews, reaching more than 7,000 stations nationwide. This does not include stations reached through associated organizations which also promote the IDOP in their radio addresses.

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have aired on radio stations nationwide featuring Bill Bright, Chuck Colson, James Dobson, Shirley Dobson, Tony Evans, D. James Kennedy, Joseph Stowell, and Ravi Zacharias.

Christian freedom groups experienced record increases in funding and participation and continue to see growth in church awareness and advocacy.

Another group I’m familiar with is Voice of the Martyrs. Stacy Harp of Mind & Media writes a blog for this organization. You can learn more about them at their website.

Another organization I just learned about is Brother Andrew’s Open Doors International. He was recently interviewed on Focus on the Family. Here’s the link to Open Doors.

May we rejoice with those who rejoice, and grieve with those who grieve.

I recently listened to a CD of a workshop about blogging, and I learned that my type of blog is called “Personality-Driven,” as opposed to “Topic-Driven.” So, that means I’m free to blog about anything I feel passionate about. Well, today I’m going to take a break from blogging about books and write about something I also have an interest in.

The topic near to my heart today is adoption. And I think it’s timely because according to somebody, it’s National Adoption Month — so there are stories everywhere about adopting.

I talked to a good friend of mine a couple of days ago who is a new parent to two young brothers she adopted from Russia. Her heart is so full, it’s absolutely overflowing, and I enjoy hearing the details of how her sons are learning to speak English quickly. Last week, her seven-year-old wrote her a note that said, “I love you, Mama.” (How sweet!)

When my friend began to feel like God put this on her heart (a VERY long story that I’m hoping to write more about someday), step after step led her to Russia. She made several trips to visit this orphanage, alone and with her husband. When she saw these two brothers, her heart about stopped. She fell in love immediately and knew she could give them a better life than they had where they were.

At the time, the oldest boy didn’t even have a decent pair of shoes. He was wearing ill-fitting girls’ Sunday shoes. The orphanage does the best it can do, but the kids spend most of their lives in only a few rooms. When the boys reach a certain age, they’re sent to a different place, and a high number of them are assaulted and molested. Then when they reach another age, many are drafted into the army. Others turn to drugs or even commit suicide. It’s very sad.

So, my friend became mother to these children a few months ago. The whole process has been amazing. I was privileged to play a small part because she asked me if I’d write a letter of recommendation to the adoption agency. Would I? Ha! I sent them practically a novel on how wonderful this family is. The interesting thing — though many adoptions take years to process, her paperwork was fully complete and acceptable in less than four months.

I met her sons a few weeks ago and got to watch them ride bikes for the first time in my driveway, and the smiles on their faces were so huge, it was a wonderful moment I’ll savor forever. Joy indescribable!

Manga ga suki desu ka? Do you like Japanese comics?

If you’re not too familiar with this word, well you should be. Especially if you’re a parent and you want to keep up with what kids today are reading. When I did a google search on “manga,” over 11 million sites popped up. So, I’ve had a hard time picking and choosing what’s best, so I’ll have something useful for you.

When I lived in Japan, I was swept away by the cultural phenomenon of reading manga. These comic books were everywhere. Since I commuted by train, I was fascinated to see so many fellow passengers deeply engrossed in a comic book. People of all ages, even men in business suits. And every train station had at least one kiosk that sold snacks, electronic gadgets, and comic books.

Since over 99% of Japan’s population is literate, most people are avid readers (unlike America — I read that 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year! See this for statistics.) I feel like much of comic’s popularity (among older readers) has to do with the transportation system in Japan — I mean, you have to do something while you ride a train! In America, we’re in cars most of the time, so we listen to the radio more. Here’s a quick statistic on sales of manga:

The total sales of published material in Japan (including magazines and books but excluding newspapers) is two trillion five-hundred billion yen, of which manga sales account for nearly one quarter. Given a total Japanese population of 120 million, we can calculate that the average Japanese spends approximately 2,000 yen per year on manga in one form or another.

I was curious to see what my Japanese students were reading, so I flipped through a few — but I had no idea which ones were popular, and to be honest, there were some that were violent and vulgar, much the same as an R-rated movie would appear in print. Here’s a great series of articles about manga that shows you what a Tokyo comics store looks like. Shelves and shelves and SHELVES! And here’s an even more in-depth set of articles from Wikipedia.

When I discovered the university I was attending offered a course called “Manga” I jumped at the chance to take it. My professor was an expert on this topic, and we studied the most popular comics and anime (cartoons). It was an amazing way for me to study Japanese pop culture because it was as up-to-date as possible. Since our class was composed of both American and Japanese students, I learned so much from my Japanese peers. It was also a GREAT way for me to connect with the children I taught because I could use some of the characters in my English lessons, and they thought I was a pretty cool teacher (it made them laugh!). Here’s a site that shows some popular anime, including one of my favorites, Totoro.

I did some temp work at one point at a Japanese comics magazine called Mangajin. It’s funny — my husband still wears my Mangajin T-shirt a lot. If you go to their site, you can read several great articles about Japanese culture.

Now here is the most interesting news: Christian publisher Barbour is releasing the first of a new series of comics for girls. The genre: inspirational manga. The title is Serenity. I’ve sent a request to review this comic, so I’ll be sure to tell you what I think about it here if they send me a copy. Here’s a source for articles on Christian comic books.

INSPIRATIONAL MANGA!!! Can you believe it?

Now this is something I can get really excited about. Japanese culture, tween girls who are reading instead of watching TV, and Christianity! Personally, I think kids learn more from reading fiction than non-fiction. It’s showing instead of telling. If a manga can be used to capture kids’ attention and deepen their faith, THAT’s a wonderful thing. Thank you, Barbour. If I were from California, I would say you ROCK!

P.S. [11/11/05 — Since posting this, I’ve gotten two emails from Barbour’s marketing dept. My review copy of Serenity is on the way. Can’t wait!]

So…what do you think?

I know many of you reading my blog are parents, and if you’re like me, you want your kids to be reading great books. Let me tell you, KAMISHIBAI MAN is absolutely amazing. It’s like walking through a museum in many ways — and don’t we feel great when we take our kids to a museum? We feel like it’s worth the admission price to ensure our children know how to appreciate history, art, and beauty.

Allen Say is both author and illustrator of this book, and this is his story. In the introduction, he writes, “When I think of my childhood in Japan, I think of kamishibai. It means ‘paper theater.’ Every afternoon, the kamishibai man came on a bicycle that had a big wooden box mounted on the back seat. The box had drawers full of candies and a stage at the top. We bought candies and listened to the man’s stories.”

Say was born in Yokohama in 1937, into a very different Japan than what exists now. Back in the days where people didn’t have televisions in their homes, children would eagerly anticipate listening to the kamishibai man’s stories. “Clack! Clack!” He would beat his wooden blocks together until he’d drawn a crowd of listeners. His stories were cliffhangers, ending with “to be continued.” So the children would return the next day to hear what happened next.

In this book, an old man who has retired to the countryside remembers his days of being a kamishibai man. “I’ve been thinking how much I miss going on my rounds,” he says to his elderly wife. So, she makes him some candies, and he rides his bike back into the city, humming along the way (until he reaches the urban metropolis). Much has changed. The trees and quiet parks have been replaced with concrete and buildings. “Who needs to buy so many things and eat so many different foods?” he wonders to himself.

The cover of the book shows you what his theater looks like. (Oh, don’t you love that picture?) He takes out his wooden blocks and clacks them together, just like in the old times. In his mind, he’s seeing the happy faces of children running to him. Thus begins a story within a story, and Say changes his style of artwork to preserve the style of the kamishibai man’s illustrated cards.

He tells the story of what it was like for him when TVs came along and began to replace his job as entertainer. In a poignant scene, a little girl comes to her window and shushes him! You can see her siblings inside, sitting mesmerized in front of a television set. The sadness on the storyteller’s face expresses the end of an era.

But as the elderly man finishes his story, he looks up to see that he’s surrounded by clapping middle-aged people, who remember him. “We grew up with your stories!” one of them shouts. They applaud him, and he’s even filmed by a news station (which is ironic, isn’t it?).

The facial expressions in the artwork are stunning; you have to look at each picture carefully to notice all the exquisite details. I’ve watched my five-year-old stare and stare at these pictures.

KAMISHIBAI MAN has received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist, and I won’t be surprised if it wins some kind of award. If you’re a baby boomer or older, you’ve GOT to see the painting on p. 27 — it’s worth framing. This would be a great addition to school libraries and classrooms — teachers will love to read it out loud because it’s captivating and full of dialogue.

In the afterword, a Japanese folklore scholar explains more of the significance of Japan’s post-war transition to an electric, affluent society. She writes, “The artists who had made their living in kamishibai turned to more lucrative pursuits, notably the creation of manga (comic books) and later anime [cartoons], but they never forgot their roots in kamishibai.”

Manga! Comic books. They’re everywhere. My kids love them. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you something new I discovered recently. I hope you’ll come back to visit. (Hmmm…wish I had some wooden cyberblocks to clap.)

Our doorbell rang the other day, and I opened it to see our postwoman, who smiled and handed me a large, flat manilla package. When I looked at the return address, I couldn’t believe it – “Say.” It was a package from Allen Say, the author, the illustrator, the Caldecott Medalist – my favorite writer about all things Japanese!

Here’s a recent picture I found of him at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. I hope I’m not breaking any copyright laws by posting this — it’s from his publisher, Houghton Mifflin Books.

Image source: Houghton Mifflin Books

Here, at last, my virtual world collided with my real one. Mr. Say (Say-San, as he prefers to be called) and I have corresponded since last spring when he emailed me in response to a letter I sent him.

Let me explain.

I was sitting on the couch with my kids, making our way through a stack of picture books from the library. Most were the same old, same old — shapes, numbers, talking animals. But one — I’d picked out because it had a medal on the front, and it looked different: Grandfather’s Journey.

Finally, I started reading that one, and when I’d read about three pages, I just burst into tears. My kids asked me what was wrong, and I said, “He understands! Here is someone who understands!”

Say wrote this story about his grandfather, who was raised in Japan, but spent many years of his adult life in America. At last, he returned to Japan, but his heart was always in two places. He writes, “…I return now and then, when I can not still the longing in my heart. The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.”

When I finished reading this book, all I can say is there was some kind of “awakening” going on in my heart. It had been years since I’d attempted any kind of creative writing, but I felt like some kind of dam burst — and I HAD to start writing.

A few days later, I wrote some poems about Japan — about my mom and me having tea in a garden in Hiroshima. The irony was too much for me…almost too much to put into words. For some reason, I felt like I should send them to Allen Say — even though I’d never done this sort of thing before and I thought for sure he’d be too busy or they would get lost. I looked up his publisher’s address and mailed my letter off to Boston.

He wrote me back — via email! And he encouraged me to start writing about Japan. So I did. I’ve written lots of things — not all about Japan — but my well overflows, and I’ve reached a point in life where I feel compelled to write every day now.

I went back to the library and checked out all the picture books of his I could find. You’ve GOT to see them. They’re magnificent! We started an Allen Say bookshelf in our house and bought several books for our family to treasure: Tea With Milk, Tree of Cranes, Emma’s Rug, The Bicycle Man, Stranger in the Mirror, The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, and How My Parents Learned to Eat.

So, back to my package from Oregon — inside was a book, carefully wrapped in crisp, white paper. Say inscribed the book to my children, and drew a picture of himself holding an ink brush, with little droplets of paint leading to their names. He also included a hand-written card, illustrated with the cover from Tree of Cranes.

The book is called KAMISHIBAI MAN, and it was released last month. I wrote him immediately to thank him for the book, and within a few minutes received a nice message from his publicist telling me he would be on tour in the Southeast. I wanted to go meet him so badly when he spoke at Duke University — but it just couldn’t work out with our schedule.

Anyway, stop in tomorrow, and I’ll tell you what KAMISHIBAI MAN means. I think it’s his greatest book ever. You’ll love it too if you’re someone who prefers words on a page and storytelling — rather than sitting mindlessly in front of the idiot box.

I’ve discovered Allen Say to be a kindred spirit indeed.

P.S. If you would like to contact Allen Say, please write his publisher, Houghton Mifflin Books.

I’ve held it in as long as I can — and now your emails have finally ignited my passion. THANK YOU to those of you who’ve written to ask — Yes, I love Japan!

Here’s where I lived for two years: Osaka, Japan. It’s the second-largest city next to Tokyo, located in the culturally rich Kansai region. Here’s a map to show you where Osaka is. And here’s a picture of Osaka Castle, which I visited at least once a week (it’s amazing during Cherry Blossom season). Japan is a very safe country — I went there alone and was never afraid to take a train, ride my bike, or walk anywhere — day or night.

I was hired to work as an English teacher for a church, Suita Bible Gospel Church. I taught English conversation to adults on Sunday mornings to attract people to visit our church (many of my students stayed for the service.) Then I helped start and co-teach a Bible study for foreign students who visited our church — we welcomed friends from dozens of countries (such as Africa, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Korea, England, France, and Germany) where we shared the common bond of speaking English and wanting to learn more about the Bible. These students were some of the world’s brightest, most talented individuals I’ve ever met in my life — many on full scholarship.

I lived with a Japanese family my first year, then in a student dormitory the next. During the week, I taught English lessons in people’s homes, a kindergarten, a university, and several private language schools. I then spent the rest of my time going to every cultural event possible — and studied Japanese language at least three hours a day. (I also attended Kansai University of Foreign Studies, then came home and completed a degree in Japanese Language and Lit.) Here’s part of an article I wrote about teaching English in Japan for International Living Magazine.

I’ll have to tell you that our big news is that it looks like we’re going to have a Japanese family come stay with us a few months from now. This dear friend of mine hosted me and my mom in her family’s home, located a short train ride from Tokyo.

Now, I’ll be able to at last return the favor. She has three children, and she wants them to experience what an American school is like — great idea! So, of course, my mind has already skipped ahead — and I’m thinking wouldn’t it be great if my kids could go visit her kids’ Japanese school someday? When I get a dream in my head like that, what I start doing is praying about it — and if it’s God’s plan for us, it WILL happen!

I know there are many of you out there who love Japan — so hopefully, you’ll click on into my blog and I’ll build up a file in my Japan category. For starters, one of my son’s Boy Scout leaders told me that his daughter (Stephanie!) is absolutely crazy about all things Japanese — and she’s been wanting to talk to me about it. But — of course, it’s hard to find the time. So, I’m blogging for Stephanie, as well as many of you who have asked me about Japan, and whether or not I can speak or read Japanese (I can).

Hey, even my two-year-old son can count to ten in Japanese, so let me at least teach you that! ichi–ni–san–shi–go–roku–schichi–hachi–ku–ju! You can do it!

One of my most treasured possessions is my Japanese Bible, Nihongo no Seisho. I bought it at a Christian bookstore in Osaka, and my friend Yoko hand-stitched me a pastel pink cover with a zipper. I used to read verses out loud every day; I haven’t in a while, but since I’m blogging about it, of course that will make me do it!

Here’s a picture of my mom and me in Kyoto when she came to visit me. Notice the cherry blossoms, sakura, in the background. It was absolutely unbelievable timing that her visit coincided with this short-lived burst of pink blooms. Sometimes, the blooms only appear a few days, and no one is sure when they’ll arrive. In fact, since there’s so little crime in Japan, the newscasters focus much of their spring coverage on the Sakura Zensen, the cherry blossom front that begins blooming in the warmer southern islands and slowly moves upward into the northern region. Then everyone goes outside to enjoy Ohana-mi, Cherry Blossom Viewing. And there’s an expression, Hana Yori Dango, which means it’s much more fun to eat than to just look at the blossoms — so the outdoor feasts are exquisite!

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you something very exciting that happened around here when my love of books collided with my love of Japan. Until then, Sayonara!

I had a fascinating experience yesterday, and of course want to share it with you. Our family went to a Sacred Harp Singing in an old country church a few miles from here. My husband’s brothers and their wives met us there, along with his parents — so it was quite an outing.

Have you heard of Shape Note Singing? Well, if you haven’t, you’ll have to follow some of the links and listen to it. There’s nothing in the world like it. When I was dating my husband, we went to church with his grandparents out in the country, and I first heard it.

Yesterday, when we arrived at the church, everyone was taking a break from the morning singing and had gathered outside for a potluck lunch. After the meal, the group headed back into the church — except me. I stayed outside to finish feeding our baby — and to be honest, I dreaded going inside. I just knew that our two-year-old was going to be wiggling in the pews, and I thought — why even go inside? It’s so nice out here — the weather, the trees turning colors, the quiet. Plus, there were over a hundred people I didn’t know inside — so why go?

Well, my husband came out a little later and told me, “You just have to come inside. You’ll love it. The kids are all sitting still. Really.”

So, I did. And it was absolutely amazing. I heard some of the most beautiful singing I’ve ever heard in my life — there’s no accompanying music, only voices. The room was full of people of all ages — children through people in their 90s. And it’s SACRED music — taken straight from the Bible.

Here’s an intro from Fasola.org:

Sacred Harp singing is the largest surviving branch of traditional American Shape Note Singing. “Sacred Harp” refers to The Sacred Harp, a book first published in 1844 and continuously updated since. Along with other hymn books from the era, its repertoire of 550 4-part a cappella hymns, odes, and anthems is part of the foundation of a vibrant oral tradition handed down since Colonial times and still practiced at hundreds of annual singing meetings, conventions, and local singing groups throughout the country.

If you want to see what a page of Shape Notes look like, follow this link. Here’s a picture that shows what it looks like when a person is leading the music. We were surrounded by wooden beams in the interior of the church we visited — so we really felt like we’d stepped back in time 150 years — except electric lights and ceiling fans kept the room comfortable.

The Pilgrim Production site allows you to listen to several songs, and let me recommend one of the most beautiful, “Lloyd.” This song (which I’m listening to now as I write) has special meaning for our family. It was truly one of the highlights of my life back in March when my husband’s brother married his beautiful (long-awaited!) bride, and she proceeded down the aisle to this song. The ceremony took place in the antebellum home where my husband grew up, in which another one of his brothers and wife live now.

Before the bride entered the room, my two oldest daughters prepared her path by gracing the wooden floors with pink rose petals taken from the silver baskets they carried. Then we all listened to this song as we watched my new sister-in-law come down the aisle. Perfect beauty!

My husband says the man who wrote this song fell asleep and dreamed he’d entered heaven and heard this. When he woke up, he wrote it down. I hope you can listen to it — and come back to it whenever your spirits need a lift.

“Music is a God-given faculty that by sounding its melody and harmony opens the doors to human hearts and souls and brings man back to his first relationship with God,” writes Ruth Denson Edwards in her introduction to The Sacred Harp songbook.

She continues, “It is the sweet union which keeps men in close relation with the hearts of men while they live in the world and which will strike the sweet chords in that spirit land where mortality does not enter and where spiritual songs are sung throughout Eternal Ages.”

Job 38:6-7 says, “What holds up the pillars that support the earth? Who laid the cornerstone of the world? In the dawn of that day the stars sang together, and the heavenly beings shouted for joy.”

Yesterday, I think I may have experienced a tiny inkling of what that magnificent chorus may have sounded like.

I know it’s Sunday, our day of rest, but I was writing this quote in my journal and working through some things personally — and I thought — maybe I should type this into my blog.

Are there any of you out there who feel like you’re in a Waiting Place? Waiting on something BIG or NEW to happen in your life? Are you trying to pay off debts, and the weeks seem long from paycheck to paycheck? Are you waiting on starting a family — and wonder what’s taking so long? Are you feeling frustrated with your present job situation? Then this is for you.

I’m still reading THE BURNING HEART CONTRACT, and Day 6 is about waiting. Becky Tirabassi writes, “No one looks forward to waiting. Many of us jump at opportunities to do something adventurous, or even daring. But no one expects to move in an exciting direction, seemingly at God’s command, only to be disappointed or rejected or stalled or ridiculed.”

She continues, “Yet Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Elijah, and even Jesus stepped out, following God’s call…and then experienced delay, discouragement, and days — even years — in a desert, jail, pit, or wilderness.”

Here’s what I copied into my journal this morning, which I felt compelled to type to you. Tirabassi was speaking to me when she says, “We learn from their lives that the desert, the waiting place, is not a place of punishment. It is a place of preparation, testing, and developing a trust in God. It is a time for listening only to God’s voice so that when many other voices are present, we can recognize only God’s voice…It is a time of holding on to the invisible, the impossible, even the irrational and watching and waiting for God to bring rescue” (p. 63-64).

So, if you feel like you’re in a Waiting Place, could you also be in a season of preparation? A time of learning to hear God’s voice and trust Him? I pray for you, whoever you are, reading this. I pray that you would hear God whisper to you —

Be still, He says, and Know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

I’ve been told by a source in sunny California that I “totally rock” as a book reviewer. That made my day. To be honest, it made my week! I’ll just say this week has been the pits as I’ve descended from my mountain retreat and gotten back to routine.

I’m not the only one. Everyone’s been discussing the conference/post-conference blues. All that adrenaline that flowed 90 miles an hour through my system is gone. Gone with the jet-fueled wind!

If you want to read what it was like for me to pitch my article ideas in a room full of editors, read Terry Whalin’s blog entry, She Was Trembling from “The Writing Life.” I’m afraid I was trembling when I sat across from Jane Struck of Today’s Christian Woman because I read her letter from the editor every month — and she hangs out with these famous people who appear in her magazine. Well, she hung out with me at Glorieta, and gave me a full 15 minutes of her uninterrupted attention. It was fun, but I was a bit trembly and decided to keep my hands in my lap so they wouldn’t shake my papers.

So I’m not quite the poised freelance writer yet, but at least it seems my book reviewing is bearing some fruit. One of our Mind & Media authors, Tim Bete, has been very pleased with his publicity — and now that I’ve gotten to know him a bit, he’s every bit as nice as he appears in his book, IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE NO DIAPERS. He sent us an excerpt we can post anywhere, which I’m saving for my print column (that I write for a magazine. They get first rights, then I’ll post it here.)

If you haven’t read Tim Bete’s book, what are you waiting for? (It’s the one down there with the baby bottoms.) I laughed SOO hard when I had to change a baby diaper in the airplane bathroom last week (twice) — it was almost as funny as Bete’s description in the book — ALMOST!

Hey, this guy “totally rocks” as a PR firm reviewer. Check out the article he wrote about us. Let me just say — I’ve gotten a lot of visitors to my site who click through from his site — so I’m appreciative.

I’m so proud to work for Mind & Media. It’s very cool to be “on the job” when I’m reading an awesome book. And then to be able to have a forum where I can recommend it to others is great. My review of THE HEART OF A MOTHER is getting picked up by another site for women, and she’s asked me to write a monthly column for them — that will be fun.

Hope you have a nice weekend!

I love reading stories about other moms — how they discipline, how they love, how they strengthen their children’s faith. It’s almost like the urge our generation has to watch reality TV. When I see how other moms handle issues similar to what I’m going through, I’m encouraged to try something new in our home.

That’s why I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading The Heart of a Mother, a book of stories compiled by Wayne Holmes. It’s given me the chance to glimpse into the homes and relationships of 60 different mothers. And I’ve seen myself and my family many times between the covers — with a fresh dose of encouraging ideas.

The book is not a hodge-podge of “what I love about my mom” stories; it’s deliberately organized into ten sections. The topics include: a mother’s wisdom, prayers, example, grace, comfort, strength, lessons, provision, presence, and unconditional love. Holmes has done a magnificent job of weaving the stories together — as soon as I weep through a sweet, sentimental memory, I’m bursting out laughing through the next. Together, they form a masterpiece, one I’ll treasure and reread for many years to come.

Where was this book when I needed it a few months ago? I was working on a manuscript about mothers and daughters, a book which will be released in February. I didn’t want to simply write about me and my mom because I wanted my book, From a Daughter’s Heart to Her Mom: 50 Reflections on Living Well, to have universal appeal — for any daughter who wants to tell her mom how much she loves her — but maybe can’t find the exact words or time. So, while I was writing, I interviewed as many women as I could, asking them, “Tell me what you love about your mom.”

But The Heart of a Mother is full of what I was looking for! I love reading how Chonda Pierce’s mom helped her family thrive on a tight budget in “The Lemonade Stand.” Lanita Bradley Boyd’s story of forgiveness in “Waving at Miss Velma” is one I’ll read again and again to my kids as I teach them why we must love people we don’t feel like loving. I loved reading how Kay Shostak’s mom set aside her housework to play games with her kids in “Time For One More Hand?” and I cried through Birdie Etchison’s “A Mother’s Discipline.” In fact, that story describes me and one of my daughters exactly! But Birdie’s daughter grew up and at the age of 25 realized how much she appreciated her mom’s discipline. I’m not there yet — but this story gives me hope that one day she’ll understand my love for her.

Birdie ends her story by writing, “I wondered later how God must feel when his children don’t listen, don’t obey. He hangs in there with us anyway. His love and coaxing never stops. He doesn’t give up, nor can we mothers give up on our children. The task was rough, but it was worth every tear, every prayer, every hope I had.”

I highly recommend this book to any mom who needs a dose of grace and encouragement — or if you’re looking for a gift idea this Christmas to show your mom how much you appreciate her — buy this book and read it first! (I do that, sometimes. Do you?) Then you can say to your mom which story reminds you of her.

This book would also be a great tool for women who lead Bible studies or devotionals — or who organize women’s retreats or mother/daughter banquets. You can pick a story that will teach your group of women just how important their roles are as mothers and daughters.