A Hive of Activity

What a beautiful day - sun shining, temperatures soaring, we had a real hive of activity going on down at the shop today. Okay, so the shoppers decided to stay in their own gardens (just 2 customers all day!), but we made the most of the carpark space and enjoyed the weather. The co-manager was even seen attempting to skateboard (I wouldn't like to say which co-manager exactly!)
Here's the sort of fun going on...

Water bombs

Roller skating
Press ups (why??!)
Skateboarding
Car washing/water fights
urrr... not sure what was going on here!
Who said life at work is dull?
Lorna

Essential Bible Reference Series

The Essential Bible Reference series may well be familiar to many of you, but it is worth highlighting again because it has recently been reprinted in a smaller (and cheaper) format.

This is the old look...

and this is the new look...

An excellent series for giving children a good overview of Bible lands, history, culture and festivals, this is also a great resource for Sunday School teaching. With good colour illustrations and photos, each book is very visual as well as giving a multitude of facts and information about each subject. Here are a couple of double-page (ish) spreads to give an idea of the layout of the contents...We have reduced our stock of the old edition from £2.99 to £1.50, and the new edition is priced at £1.99

It is also worth mentioning that some of the old Essential Bible Reference titles have now been reproduced and put into a new series called Candle Discovery Series. These are bigger books, mostly hardbacks and are more interactive (bits to pull out, stickers to stick in, models to make etc!).

Highly recommended.

Lorna

(to check our stock, just put Essential Bible Reference or Candle Discovery Series into the quicksearch box on the homepage)

Customer Feedback

This is Angle Tarn, a place of wild beauty around 2000 feet up in the Lake District. A lovely location for team building in a month where fellowship has been the buzzword of the Christian booktrade. Unity is strength, but only if it is more than superficial.

The Lord blessed us with some fine weather, and then I was greeted by this sunny comment in an email on our return...

I would normally order them (books) direct, but given the current state of Christian bookshops across the country I feel it's right you get my custom even if I live hundreds of miles away!

This was accompanied by another, in an email from Australia...

I really like your website, well done!

Short but sweet, just like our time in the Lake District.

Jeremy

Dealing It Out

This is John Blanchard at his best. Dealing with atheism, albeit within the compass of a slim paperback, but with devastating effect. Evangelical Press, now rebranded as EP Books, have produced this cheaply (£2.50) in their Popular Christian Apologetics series, so it is readable by anyone. It is a pretty quick read too. The great thing about this Blanchard contribution to the Dawkins debate is his focus. He doesn't lock horns as a scientist, because he isn't one. But as an experienced debater with atheists, Blanchard goes for the jugular - politely. The 'new atheism' which Richard Dawkins is devoted to, claims that science has disproved God's existence. Blanchard shows how unscientific this idea is in itself. He further exposes the flaws in Dawkins' arguments, chipping away at rash claims and doubtful statements across the whole range of books he has authored, not just 'The God Delusion.' He also shows what a sterile and savage philosophy atheism is when it takes Darwinian evolutionary theory to its logical conclusion. But we need to understand that this is what underpins the attempts of the intellectual establishment to marginalise Christianity and influence governmental policy in the field of ethics in Britain today. Although Blanchard may be faulted for his view of conversion (no mention of regeneration as a distinct work of the Holy Spirit), the body of this book is most helpful in 'Dealing with Dawkins' and his chums.

Jeremy

3 into 1 Does Go...Just!

10th - 16th April 2010.
7 days, 3 events.
2 out-of-shop bookstalls, 1 in-shop activity day. What a week!

No shortage of helpers for setting up one of the bookstalls...The activity day...

Plenty of children in the children's corner... just what we like to see!

Exhausted, but encouraged I think is my assessment at the end of a busy week.

Lorna

Footsteps of the Past

I picked out some activity books from the shop to occupy our boys on a long journey this week and discovered a winner for Matt. His current favourite subject is history, so I headed for the Day One 'Footsteps of the Past' series, and picked out William Tyndale. This is a great series written by two deputy-headteachers who aim to introduce key figures in Christian history. The booklets are full of facts and fun activities - some, like code cracking can be completed in the car, and others like 'Make a Quill Pen' take a bit more time and mess! Our destination being a quiet country spot in Wiltshire, Matt was out early this morning chasing pheasants in an attempt to catch a feather for his quill pen. Unfortunately the pheasants were faster than him so he had to settle for a rather more plain pigeon feather that he found in the garden. Then he needed some berries (oh dear, wrong time of year but thankfully Granny had some in the freezer!), some salt, some vinegar and away he went...

The finished product!

I think this is an inspiring series for 7+yr olds, plenty of biographical information interspersed with well thought out activities. For anyone planning a trip to the British Museum the series also includes 2 books intended to take a child through the Museum particularly relating the history to the Old Testament (Kings, Pharaohs and Bandits) and the New Testament (Romans, Gladiators and Games). At only £2 these booklets are really excellent value for money.

It is also worth noting that this 'Footsteps of the Past' series is linked with the adult 'Travel with...' series - something for all the family!

Lorna

New Focus Conference 2010

Thank you to Peter Meney for once again inviting us to take a bookstall out to the New Focus Conference this year. It has been a heartwarming occasion in the past, meeting old friends and some regular mail order customers of ours. Please come along if you can. We will just be there on the Saturday, but the Conference runs from 9th - 11th April. See the official details here: http://www.egglesburn.org.uk

The location in upper Teesdale is utterly charming (as are the hosts!) When I go up there I am torn between sneaking off and hiking up to the high fells and doing my duty and attending to the Conference. No, seriously, it promises to be a bigger event than ever this year and I look forward to ministry from some men I haven't heard before, as well as Don Fortner from Stateside. May the Lord grant safe journeys and happy landings to all.

Jeremy