A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God by Patricia St. John

If you know me in real life (not just in the internet world), you know that I’m a mom of five very talkative, outgoing, very energetic children, currently ages 5-12. Being talkative, outgoing, and energetic are excellent qualities for most parts of life, but these qualities do make it difficult to sit still and listen while being read aloud to. But I believe that reading to children is greatly important, so we persevere with me often saying, “Quiet. No talking. Time to listen.”

But recently, we’ve found a book that is so good, so enthralling, and so moving, that my noisy, talkative bunch is listening SILENTLY to every last word. When I am done, often the kids are a little misty eyed (and so am I), and we have a wonderful discussion about God’s Word. I truly find it a bit miraculous, and I want to share this phenomenal book with you today.

The book is A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God by Patricia St. John. In the book, St. John uses modern day parables to display the character of Christ. She also uses stories to show what it really means to be a Christian in today’s world. Using stories to point people to the kingdom of God is exactly how Jesus taught people, so I know this is an effective method! And St. John is such a masterful storyteller that my kids and I are enjoying this book so much!

The title of this book may make it seem that it is only for young people, but I am truly learning so much! I find myself thinking about the stories and the accompanying Scripture throughout the day. I know my kids are, too, because they talk about them at various times.

St. John is a favorite author of ours. Her fiction books are wonderful and help show God’s work in the lives of various interesting characters. We have read them for years, and are not delighted to find this nonfiction book.  You can read more about them here.

A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God is simply a treasure! I hope that you get to read it soon!