If you happen to be in the Chicago area next Monday, September 9, 2013, stop in between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, where I’ll be signing copies of my books: A Month of Sundays: 31 Meditations on Resting in God ($10), Little One Lost: Living with Early Infant Loss ($10), and Not My Own: Discovering God’s Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism ($15).

A Month of Sundays: 31 Meditations on Resting in God explores the concept of rest that permeates the Bible from creation to consummation.  After God created and named the different aspects of our universe in six days, He rested. When Christ returns to complete His kingdom, all believers will enjoy perfect rest. Between these two great bookends of history, God calls us to rest in Him every day.

In today’s hectic and distressing world, we need to recapture the concept of daily rest. Demands and distractions agitate our spirits. Disasters trigger anxiety. Diseases generate pain. Despair creeps into our hearts. These influences displace our peace and pull us from resting in God and His Word. The reflections in A Month of Sundays: 31 Meditations on Resting in God pause our spinning thoughts and calm our fluctuating feelings.

ENDORSEMENTS:

Glenda Mathes has written an uplifting series of meditations on the subject of rest for the weary. Starting with the premise of sabbath rest as a model for how God wishes his children to live, Glenda weaves a wide-ranging tapestry of how Christians can follow God’s mandate to rest in him both now and eternally. The book is filled with great texts from the Bible, accompanied by interspersed quotations from the Heidelberg Catechism and personal reflections and recollections of the author. This is a great book for all who labor and are heavy laden, and who want to obey God’s command to rest. People for whom Sunday observance is important, as well as those who love the Heidelberg Catechism, will especially resonate with this book.

— Leland Ryken, professor of English, Wheaton College

‘Rest’ is a topic often overlooked in our hectic schedules, but Glenda Mathes shows it is essential to a Christian life. Not as another thing ‘to do,’ but as part of our calling. A Month of Sundays invites us to overcome our distractions and fears and seek the one true source of rest, Christ Himself.

— Janie B. Cheaney, columnist for WORLD Magazine, and a contributing editor at RedeemedReader.com

Do you grieve the loss of a preborn child? Do you wonder how to minister to someone who grieves the loss of an infant? The grief of miscarriage, stillbirth, and newborn loss is often misunderstood and frequently ignored.

In Little One Lost: Living with Early Infant Loss, I share my own experience of loss and show from Scripture that these littlest ones are not really lost.

Through the personal stories of several couples, readers learn about a variety of losses, including the pain of infertility. Additional sections deal with acknowledging loss, finding comfort, grieving with hope, and healing from pain.

Steeped in biblical wisdom, this book will resonate with mourning parents and assist anyone who longs to comfort those who grieve a little one lost.

ENDORSEMENT:

Helpful for those struggling with the questions that occur following infant loss, and hopeful because of Christ, Who loses no little ones.

— Dr. Marvin Olasky, Editor-in-chief of WORLD magazine

Not My Own: Discovering God’s Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism is the first volume in the “Life in Christ” catechism curriculum. It is a workbook aimed at grade five students, but can be used effectively by older or younger students. Many adults appreciate its simple and thorough explanation of the catechism beloved by generations of Reformed believers.

One of the most heartwarming endorsements I’ve received to date was from my oldest grandson, who recently began using it for his homeschool Bible class. He told me, “I like that book you wrote, Grandma. I like how you break each lesson up, so it’s not too much to read.”

I hope to see you on Monday afternoon!