Invite Resources – A New Christian Publishing House

On November 9, 2020, Invite Press, the official imprint of Invite Resources, published its first book, Everything Is Gonna Be All Right by Robert Hasley, a collection of the author’s life experiences and short devotional messages of comfort and encouragement. Invite Resources is a ministry of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, where publisher Len Wilson is the Director of Innovation & Strategy. When introducing Invite Resources on his blog, Wilson had this to say:

The mission of Invite is to share the promise of the New Creation. Think of us as a Publisher Plus: not just a traditional publishing house, but a platform for life-changing ideas. We want to be about people who are doing great things, which means we are working with idea makers to create platforms and maximize influence. 

The Our Values page of the Invite Resources website goes into more detail about its mission and lists its values: innovation, each person’s unique gifts, individual contexts, community, and changing lives.

I recently received two books published by Invite Resources to review. Solid Souls by Arthur Jones calls on readers to reevaluate their conception of the soul and see that the idea of heaven and hell as existing in a distant future is dangerous. Jones states that “You are a soul. You do not have a soul, but you are a soul.” When we accept this, we will strive to have solid souls filled with meaning and purpose. Jones’ book provides specific ways to live your life that will make your soul less shriveled and more solid. He calls upon us to look closely at every aspect of our lives, the small decisions as well as the big ones.  

Present Comfort: Meditations on Modern Loss and Grief is written by Julie Yarbrough, author of the Beyond the Broken Heart grief resources for individuals and group use, as well as other books on grief. A persistent theme throughout the book is that God is with us in our grief, whether it’s from a personal loss or societal tragedies such as acts of senseless violence, natural disasters, or the global pandemic. Yarbrough uses scripture, personal experience, and the awareness of God’s presence to comfort as she discusses various aspects of grief, such as the shame felt by those related to perpetrators of violence (outcast grief), guilt after a loved one’s death (survivor torment), fatigue, and unresolved emotions.

Invite Resources’ goal, beginning summer 2021, is to release a new book approximately once a month. You can check out the titles they’ve published as well as books soon to be published on their website.  

A Little Blue Bottle – A Book Review

By Cathy Applewhite

A Little Blue Bottle, published by Church Publishing, Inc., is a children’s picture book on the topics of loss, grief, death, and faith. The sensitive words of Jennifer Grant and vivid illustrations of Gillian Whiting pair together to tell the story of a child who is expressing her feelings of loss when an elderly neighbor dies.

As you read the story, the power of a picture book comes alive!  The girl senses that nothing seems the same; there are changes all around her. Her mother sits with her in that moment and recalls her own experiences of the elderly woman. She remembers the little blue bottle that always sat on the elderly woman’s windowsill. The mother explains the meaning of the little blue bottle by the Bible verse, Psalm 56:8. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

This image helps the little girl understand that God is present in her sadness, saving her tears one by one. The story closes with the mother’s empathetic embrace of the girl as they sit on the back porch. The chosen colors in the artwork depict a darkening sky that simply conveys − it is okay to grieve.

At the conclusion of the book, Jennifer Grant provides a page entitled “Best Practices for When a Child Is Grieving.” This resource list is a guide for adults to help children cope with loss of any kind. The references are compiled with the expertise of therapists and are an added bonus for the reader. One example is that it is important to respect the child by using specific language and avoiding euphemisms.

This past year, many people have experienced immense loss and are asking for an appropriate children’s book to read together. I highly recommend this book for its beautifully illustrated story, demonstrating compassion and a “ministry of presence.” Finally, A Little Blue Bottle by Jennifer Grant points to God who cares and comforts us on our grief journey.

The publisher’s website also provides free activity pages for children based on the book.

A review copy of this book was supplied by the publisher.

My Favorite Color Is Blue. Sometimes – A Book Review

Life is hard. Sometimes, children find that out sooner rather than later. For a child the loss of a loved one may be difficult to process. Children lack the vocabulary to express their feelings as adult do; their brains are not fully developed so completing the process of reconciling to the death may take years.

A children may give the appearance of coping well, but may be grieving tremendously on the inside. Denial of grief can be emotionally unhealthy and lead to problems in the future. An understanding adult can help a child remember the person they’ve lost in various ways, such as looking at photographs or telling stories about the deceased adult.

Roger Hutchison has provided another tool to help grieving children (and adults) express the mixture of feelings that come when a loved one has died. His book My Favorite Color Is Blue. Sometimes. is subtitled A Journey Through Loss with Art and Color. It uses colors to talk about different ways a child may be feeling. Turning the pages of the book to read the simple text and experience the beautiful artwork can help children to share their own (perhaps confusing) feelings about the person they’ve lost. Blue stands for sweet blueberries, the bright blue sky, and the deep blue of the sea, but also for a swirling blue rainstorm.

The storm is inside of me.
I am angry.
I am sad.
My heart is hurting.

Hutchison had the privilege of painting with children who witnessed the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The experience convinced him that he had a vocation to serve those who grieve with his writing and art. My Favorite Color Is Blue. Sometimes was published by Paraclete Press on November 7, 2017.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, Hutchison will be presenting a free webinar about the book for PRC – Practical Resources for Churches. You can click here to register to attend the webinar in person; after November 14, you can use the same link to register to view the recording.

Paraclete Press provided a review copy of the book.