Review: The God Puzzle

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We’ve been surrounded by the perfection that comes from a fresh snowfall.  The view out our front door:

Even the barbed wire fence has taken on a kind of beauty:

And God reveals Himself once again…

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.  ~Romans 1:20

Esmé and I are having a good time putting pieces of The God Puzzle together – finding the themes that weave themselves throughout the entire Bible and enhance our picture of God.

Synopsis

About the book: The God Puzzle is a colorful, easy to use tool to help you communicate to your child the rich truths about God, His ways, His will and His love. The God Puzzle will help you address doctrinal themes of the Christian faith in a kid friendly way, present Bible lessons in an interactive way that will hold the child's attention and deliver quality teaching with no preparation needed. 75% of children leave the church when they leave home. Something isn't working. Sunday School isn't doing it all. Kids need answers, good ones. And they need them from you, the parent. This book enables you to give them simple, clear answers.

What makes The God Puzzle unique?

- ready made discussion questions for parent to ask their child in each lesson

- can be done at any pace that works with your family…every night, once a week, 10 minutes here, 30 minutes there…it fits into realistic family life

- puts the pieces together for a child to understand God, the Bible, and the Christian faith

- in each lesson the responds to the truth so they understand their relationship to God is personal and life transforming

- any parent, whether they know nothing, or a lot about God can start teaching their child today with no prep

- deep theology put into language a child can understand

- deeply Biblical, each lesson points to Christ

- put in an order that starts with creation, and teaches the Bible as one story that all points to Christ

- child stays engaged by filling in blanks, crosswords, drawing, matching and using their Bibles as they learn

About the Author

Valerie Ackermann has a BA in Theology and has been a full time Children's Ministry Director at Parkwood Community Church in California for over 10 years. She is also a weekly Sunday school teacher, wife, and busy mom of two boys ages 9 and 11. She has hands-on experience as a children's ministry professional, teaching and leading children of all ages. Growing up in a Christian family in the small town of Saskatchewan Canada, she has wonderful memories of knowing God from an early age. She has a passion for kids to know the deep truths of God. Find out more at LeadMeToGod.com.

Format:  8 1/2”x11”, 217 pages, paperback 
Genre: Christian children’s workbook, ages 7-12 
Publisher:  HigherLife Publishing 
List Price:  $19.95, currently on sale for $18.00, plus discount pricing if ordering more than one. 
To Buy:  http://leadmetogod.com/the-god-puzzle-book
For More Information:  http://leadmetogod.com/

Mom’s Review

When I first saw the workbook, the homeschooling mama in me got excited!  The perfect curriculum – colorful worksheets, 36 chapters – a great way to add a solid Bible component to the school year.

But to be honest, the workbook format scared me at first.  Esmé is a creative 6yo keeping up with 3rd graders at school; she has never liked worksheets and gets more than her fill of them already.  They are the last thing she wants to do at home.  Me, on the other hand, I like seeing the pages neatly and completely filled out!

As usual, Esmé was a few steps ahead of me!  She grabbed onto the workbook (she loves “the waxy feel of the cover”) and began to neatly fill it out.  She’s taking pride in this book of hers.

And I am learning to get over myself!  This is a tool, not a master.  Given who Miss Esmé is, I am not going to assign a chapter a week to her and expect her to complete it nicely and neatly on her own, though I love when this happens.  However, it makes an excellent discussion guide that the two of us can do together.  And equipped with some colorful pens, she can do her creative thing, making fancy letters and doodles as she sees fit.

Esmé is amazingly well-versed for her age in Bible stories and texts, but this is her first experience in this type of Bible study – looking up texts spread throughout the Bible, connecting themes and applying them to real life.    I’m thrilled with the first themes of the book:  who God is, what He is like, what it means to be created.  These are questions that have long absorbed Esmé’s busy mind.  I’m looking forward to this year of discovery as we work through The God Puzzle.
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Disclosure:  Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and author for providing the review copy of this book.  I received it for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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