The New Books Shelf at the Library

I always pause at the New Books shelf at our library. Frequently, I'll check one out just to look through; it seems that I never love these books enough to read word-for-word, but some are interesting to skim.

So on my last trip, I saw this book called It's My Heart. I picked it up because I thought the perspective would be interesting. I've been thinking a lot about my children's hearts -- the emotional side -- and how, as much as I love them, I tend to be mostly about "making them" behave and "making them" do what they need to do (school, homework, chores, church and so on). The "making them" doesn't work very well with pre-teens and teens. Instead of changing my strategy (which would be good for us all and probably less stressful), I up the ante, so to speak. I try to find the logical consequence to "make them" act right.

I checked out the book to read through at home. What would it tell me about kids' hearts?

Got home and opened it up and, guess what, it is about kids' hearts. Not heart as in emotions and the seat of the soul and so forth, but actual, physical hearts!

I laughingly told my two girls about this and my older one looked me straight in the eye and said, "you can't judge a book by its cover." She's right.

So I now need to think about what a book about kids' hearts (not the physical organ) would say.

I think it would be a lot about relationships and connections.