Hospitality Through Story: Teaching Kids to Love Their Neighbors

When Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, His listeners were shocked. The hero of the story wasn’t the religious leader or the respected citizen—it was the person they least expected. A neighbor who crossed cultural, religious, and social boundaries to show mercy. That’s the heart of hospitality: creating space for someone else, even…

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October Short Story Contest Theme Reveal: Light in the Darkness

short story contest

Stories hold power because they capture turning points—the moments when shadows don’t get the last word, when hope flickers alive, and when light breaks into the darkest places. That’s why we’re so excited to announce the theme of this year’s Rooted Minds Short Story Contest: 🌟 Light in the Darkness 🌟 ✨ Theme Verse: John 1:5 — “The light shines…

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Why We Need Both C. S. Lewis and James Baldwin

Multicultural literature recommendations

A few years ago, a little girl asked her mom, “Does God love boys more than girls?” Her question came after noticing that in her Bible storybook, girls were almost completely absent. From silence, she drew a conclusion about belonging. That one question has stayed with me because it reminds us how powerful stories are. They don’t…

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Join our October Short Story Contest

The Beauty of Short Stories: Announcing Our October Writing Contest Short stories have a way of catching us off guard. They don’t take hundreds of pages to build a world or introduce a character—you’re invited in quickly, swept into a moment, and left changed by the end. They’re like windows that suddenly open and let…

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Does God Love Boys More? A Review of The Book of Belonging

best Christian children’s Bible storybook

When Mariko Clark’s young daughter looked up and asked, “Mom, does God love boys more than girls?” it stopped her in her tracks. The question didn’t come out of nowhere—it came from noticing that in her Bible storybook, hardly any girls were mentioned. What her daughter felt in that moment is something all of us, whether as…

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