Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘German’

Hello there blog. Sorry it’s been a while. But now it’s May and the sun is shining and I think I should see if my brain links to my typing fingers for more than 140 characters. What news in the Vicarage?

1. I gave some talks to people I’d not met before, which was a first for me. The lovely spouses of Sheffield Diocese asked me to speak to them on Messy Ministry and so I spent last Saturday talking to them and encouraging them to talk to each other about the messy and peculiar world of Vicarage life. I was very much encouraged to meet them and hear of God’s work in Yorkshire. I also got to drive past the church where my parents were married, as the venue we were using was just close to the village where my Yorkshire grandparents used to live.

2. The Ministry of a Messy House is available in German now. I have a copy of Herrlich Unperfekt but my schoolgirl German isn’t quite up to reading it. They even translated my dad’s poem.

3. The book in English is currently being reprinted by IVP, as they are out of stock in the warehouse. There should be another 500 copies available at the end of May. See if you can find one at your local Christian bookshop in the meantime.

4. I have cleared my desk. This momentous achievement means that my head feels a little less messy. Maybe I’ll even start writing things again. Although it’s amazing how attractive housework becomes once there’s something else that you feel you should be doing instead.

Read Full Post »

It’s more than a year since my book The Ministry of a Messy House was published. It’s been a fun year, seeing something I can’t quite believe that I produced stocked in catalogues and bookshops and conferences. I’ve had opportunities to speak on the grace of God in our messes and muddle and have a couple more speaking engagements coming up next year. People have commented encouragingly on the book here and in a few other spots on the internet. Comments have come from the UK and also further afield: Australia, New Zealand and the US I think.

And this week I’ve had confirmation that The Ministry of a Messy House is going to be translated and published in Germany by Neukirchener. The contract has been signed but I’m not sure when it will be available to buy. I can’t say that a German translation was something I anticipated as I was writing! The proposed new title seems rather lengthy:

Herrlich Unperfekt: Erfrischende Geständnisse einer chaotischen Pfarrfrau

which according to Google translate is:

Delightfully Imperfect: refreshing confessions of a chaotic pastor’s wife

I think they may have sussed me out….

Read Full Post »

Another book from the pile I picked up from CLC to review for our Pathfinder venture is Afterwards I Knew, which contains eight short stories, mostly set in Holland during the Second World War. The stories are fictional but are movingly told, recollecting hardships and difficult choices made by Christians in times of hunger and oppression.

The stories are peppered with lyrical language, scripture and poetry. They tell of families reunited, people finding faith and standing up for Christ.  There is rich theology here too – God’s grace in difficult times and despite our weaknesses and assurance of God’s love and the hope of the resurrection when we feel the weight of our sin.

Christian Focus recommend ‘Afterwards I Knew’ for children over 13 years old and I think 11 year olds with good comprehension skills (and knowledge of the Second World War) would be fine with it. The only rider I would place on this book is to ensure that those reading it know it is fiction. The stories are so uplifting and moving, it would be tempting to believe that they actually happened.

Who for: Boys and girls ages 11 and up (and grown-ups)
Genre: Short stories, historical fiction
Recommended for Pathfinder camp: Yes (for older Pathfinders)

Read Full Post »

%d bloggers like this: