Don't you just love how God brings you friends that you really needed but didn't even know to ask? S.D. Smith, "Sam" as we know him, has become a cherished family friend. We really love his whole family and wish we could adopt them. His encouragement, support, love and creativity has been a constant source of encouragement in the past few years.
As many know, cultivating our children's imaginations and reading hundreds of great stories to them became a foundation for them to learn to think of themselves as heroes, ready to live a courageous story for God's kingdom.
Some years ago, Sam told us he was working on a book that was based on a story he told his children when they were little. It sounded like the stories we read to our children. We were intrigued and couldn't wait to see it print. This first book, The Green Ember, was the first book that has been a best seller since the beginning. Thousands of families and children have been hooked on these books and the wonderful characters of Rabbits who are the heroes of the tales. Two more books in the series have followed, Ember Falls and Ember Rising, as well as two short novels. For more info, visit the Story Warren shop and see all the books and descriptions.
Along the way, Sam asked Joel, our son, to become the narrator for each of the main volumes of his wonderful tales (find out more about each audiobook on the Story Warren store). Joel loved the challenge and interpreted the many voices and personalities of the characters in the books. And now, by God's grace, people all over the world write to Joel about how much they love listening to these audiobooks. In addition to his narration, Joel wrote an album of original musical soundscapes to listen to while reading the books, called Melodies for the Mended Wood, which you can find out more about here. Take a listen to the first five songs on the album below:
Sam has agreed to give away a set of signed copies of the whole set of his books. And so we decided to give away a set of our Lifegiving books to match his generous offer. He has also agreed to give away a set of audiobooks to a winner and five copies of Joel's Melodies for the Mended Wood album.
If you would like to win this wonderful giveaway, follow Sam (sdsmithereens) and me (sally.clarkson) on instagram and then tag a friend to tell them about the launch of our new book, The Lifegiving Parent. We will pick a one winner from the comments for this great gift of his books and your friend that you tagged will win a set of my books. And 5 more winners will be chosen to win the audio books. What fun!
Would you please consider telling your friends about our new book and be sure to join Clay and me for our podcast series on the book starting Monday, May 7. Start a group with a friend, a Sunday school class, a small group or just have your husband listen. it is a great way to build philosophies together.
