Messages from the media and pressures from peers all seem to conspire against raising children with strong Christian values. As kids grow older the potential for things to go wrong just seems to multiply. How can parents nurture their families with confidence, without the fear that they are making some big mistake? Tim Stafford sets you free from worrying about the Joneses or anyone else. He shows you how to build core Christian values into your children in a way that fits who God made your family to be, unique and different from every other family. In this practical and freeing book, you'll find: Why your family doesn't have to be like other families How to build core values into your children that will last a lifetime How you can find the patterns that fit who you and your family are Ways to build family life that kids enjoy and that parents find satisfying Why there's more than one, good, right way to be a family How to build grace and freedom into your family life while still providing structure and security Release from the fear that you are parenting the wrong way Stafford identifies thirteen core biblical values and describes a wide variety of ways to build these into families. He explores the many options that are available for parents to help their children develop in truthfulness, contentment, hard work, joy, rest, forgiveness and putting God first. Some books suggest there is only one right way to parent, no matter who you are. InNever Mind the Joneses Stafford frees you to explore the ways God has provided that fit your family best.

Tim Stafford's work lives in the buffer zone between Chicago and the American Dream - far from the suburbs with white picket fences and country clubs but still too far to be of the city proper. Like a carefully curated mixtape, Stafford's work navigates the side streets and highways in between, linking those worlds in an effort to create his own.

Teaching Visual Literacy in the Primary Classroom shows how everyday literacy sessions can be made more exciting, dynamic and effective by using a wide range of media and visual texts in the primary classroom. In addition to a wealth of practical teaching ideas, the book outlines the vital importance of visual texts and shows how children can enjoy developing essential literacy skills through studying picture books, film, television and comic books.

Designed to take into account the renewed Framework for Literacy, each chapter offers a complete guide to teaching this required area of literacy. Aimed at those who want to deliver high quality and stimulating literacy sessions, each chapter contains a range of detailed practical activities and resources which can be easily implemented into?existing literacy teaching with minimal preparation. In addition, each chapter gives clear, informative yet accessible insights into the theory behind visual literacy.

Containing a wealth of activities, ideas and resources for teachers of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, this book discusses how children's literacy skills can be developed and enhanced through exploring a range of innovative texts. Six chapters provide comprehensive guides to the teaching of the following media and literacy skills:

• picture books
• film and television
• comic books
• visual literacy skills
• genre
• adaptation.

Teaching Visual Literacy in the Primary Classroom is an essential resource for all those who wish to find fresh and contemporary ways to teach literacy and will be useful not only to novices but also to teachers who already have experience of teaching a range of media.

Students, primary school teachers, literacy co-ordinators and anyone who is passionate about giving pupils a relevant and up-to-date education will be provided with everything they need to know about teaching this new and ever-expanding area of literacy.

This well-told story is the third book in the River of Freedom series and follows the life of newspaper reporter Marion K. (M.K.) Nichols. M.K. experiences the tragedy that can come from alcohol when his actress wife, Darla, dies in an alcohol-related accident. Later he is converted and begins to write for Christian causes. This sets the stage for an inspired crusade in the national Prohibition movement. Through M.K.'s involvement, readers meet a parade of colorful and sometimes-corrupt characters on both sides of the issue. "The Law of Love" is an entertaining, historically accurate account of the role Christians played in Prohibition.

Susan Nichols wants the right to vote...but how hard is she willing to fight for it? "Sisters" is the powerful chronicle of a second-generation suffragist searching for her identity during the dramatic, turbulent times surrounding the woman suffrage movement in America. Though Susan-named for the famous women's rights advocate Susan B. Anthony-participates in the movement on several levels, she struggles with what it really means to be a woman in changing times. Striving to understand the true meaning of women's rights, Susan relies on her Christian faith for answers. Readers will be exposed to the role Christians played in the fight for women's rights.

Amid continuing debate over just how "Christian" are the Christian roots of the United States, "The Stamp of Glory" is the first book in a multigenerational family saga where the main characters interact with actual historical Christians who helped changed America for the better. The story of a fictional southern family intertwines across three decades with key historical figures at the heart of the abolitionist movement in the United States.

Science and faith should be allies, not opponents, in the search for truth. But when it comes to understanding the very beginnings of life, it is no easy task to reconcile the history taught in the Bible with the discoveries of the scientific community. Author Tim Stafford watched the tension between the beliefs of Darwin and the teaching of Genesis shake the faith of his family, ruin friendships, and leave Christians in the field of science feeling as though the doors of the church were closed to their profession.
He believes this civil war can stop. The scientific record and the truth of the Bible aren't mutually exclusive. The Adam Quest offers a compelling new look at the beginnings of life as Stafford puts questions of dinosaurs, genealogy, and the age of the earth to eleven world-class scientists. A sweeping book--touching everything from advances in genetics to a particle physicist striving to become Anglican priest--Stafford uses the stories and journeys of these remarkable men and women to provide a new diversity of answers. Scientific progress is carefully detailed, while the struggle toward truth and toward God is humanized. A deeply informative look at Christians working in science, this book is for both believers and those who harbor doubts--an intersection of faith and science, and a safe place for questions. Whether you believe in a young earth, intelligent design, evolutionary creationism, or something else, The Adam Quest offers a chance to strengthen your faith, deepen your knowledge, and bring science back into the church. Praise for The Adam Quest To a debate that usually provokes accusations, name-calling, and polarization, Tim Stafford offers a wise, mediating overview. For some, this book may well be a faith-saver. --Philip Yancey, author of What Good Is God? If you've ever been troubled by the relationship between science, the Bible, and human origins--this book is for you. Tim is thoughtful of mind and generous of spirit--two qualities much needed in this discussion. --John Ortberg, Senior Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, and author of Who Is This Man? Tim Stafford provides a glimpse into the lives of eleven scientists with a strong commitment to Christian faith who are involved in the creation/evolution controversies, representing different perspectives. He goes beyond the technical details of the debates to reveal the personal experiences that underlie each of their convictions. Everyone interested in science and faith would benefit from this insightful perspective of the human sentiment behind the wide range of positions. --Randy Isaac, Executive Director, American Scientific Affiliation The importance of Stafford's book is that it brings together the top advocates of the various creation positions and lets them speak for themselves. The personal stories put a human face on a debate that has split Christians from Christians, as well as Christians from non-Christians. I found the discussion of the personal histories of each author as important as the technical positions they defend. This is as much a book about the sociology of science as the details of creation. It lays out how science advances, how Christians practice their faith in their discipline, and how the science establishment responds to propositions that are not in the mainstream. --Robert K. Prud'homme, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Director, Program in Engineering Biology at Princeton University Tim Stafford's book is unique and impressive in the breadth of viewpoints presented by thoughtful Christian scholars. They clearly have profound differences in their approach to biblical exegesis and interpretation of scientific knowledge. At the same time, each expresses an abiding faith in Christ and an unmistakable love of science. What these scientists share is far greater than the controversies that separate them. Stafford wants all of us to appreciate this as well, and his book is a big step toward fulfilling his hope. --Robert Kaita, physicist at Princeton University In The Adam Quest Tim set out to improve the tone of the debate about human origins. In my mind he succeeded. By promising to serve as a reporter rather than a polemicist, he gained the trust of advocates across the spectrum of positions on the subject. As a result we encounter eleven very different scientists as persons instead of protagonists. The result is a new window into the debate--or better yet, some oil on troubled waters. --Jack C. Swearengen, PhD, Professor of Engineering (retired); author of Beyond Paradise? Technology and the Kingdom of God

Teaching Visual Literacy in the Primary Classroom shows how everyday literacy sessions can be made more exciting, dynamic and effective by using a wide range of media and visual texts in the primary classroom. In addition to a wealth of practical teaching ideas, the book outlines the vital importance of visual texts and shows how children can enjoy developing essential literacy skills through studying picture books, film, television and comic books.

Designed to take into account the renewed Framework for Literacy, each chapter offers a complete guide to teaching this required area of literacy. Aimed at those who want to deliver high quality and stimulating literacy sessions, each chapter contains a range of detailed practical activities and resources which can be easily implemented into existing literacy teaching with minimal preparation. In addition, each chapter gives clear, informative yet accessible insights into the theory behind visual literacy.

Containing a wealth of activities, ideas and resources for teachers of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, this book discusses how children's literacy skills can be developed and enhanced through exploring a range of innovative texts. Six chapters provide comprehensive guides to the teaching of the following media and literacy skills:

• picture books
• film and television
• comic books
• visual literacy skills
• genre
• adaptation.

Teaching Visual Literacy in the Primary Classroom is an essential resource for all those who wish to find fresh and contemporary ways to teach literacy and will be useful not only to novices but also to teachers who already have experience of teaching a range of media.

Students, primary school teachers, literacy co-ordinators and anyone who is passionate about giving pupils a relevant and up-to-date education will be provided with everything they need to know about teaching this new and ever-expanding area of literacy.

Real Christian faith doesn't remain hidden in the heart: It shows itself through the lives we live. Faith grows as we cultivate perseverance, humility, and patience -- key attributes that the book of James commends. James calls us to demonstrate our faith in practical ways in the world around us. Studying James will help you prove the reality of your faith through sound actions, attitudes, and words in your everyday life.

The setting is 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, the "meanest city in the South." Martin Luther King, Jr., has come to town to confront segregation in the person of Bull Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety. Chris Wright, young, white, penniless and idealistic, arrives by Greyhound bus, anxious to join King in the fight. He is taken in by a charismatic local civil rights leader and put to work for the protest movement. There he meets Dorcas Jones, young, black, cynical and committed. Their ideals clash, but events bind the two close together as they follow King to the apocalyptic encounter between Birmingham's black children and the dogs and fire hoses of the Birmingham white establishment. "A reporter's eye for detail brings this fictional tale of the civil rights movement to life. The flawed but brave protagonists draw us in, and make us wonder how we would have fared in the struggle against the evils of segregation." --Dean Anderson, author of Bill the Warthog mysteries "A gritty, gripping novel by a master storyteller." --Robert Digitale, author of Horse Stalker "A masterful work of historical fiction that is a ultimately a tribute to the real-life heroes of one of America's most significant social movements. - --Paul Gullixson, editorial director, The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

"It is vital for educators to discover new ways to get students wanting to read and write poetry. These exercises are not intimidating, they are the equivalent of having a really rad English teacher who wears tweed suits and sports "read more" knuckle tattoos." -Rachel McKibbens, "Pink Elephants" "This collection provides teachers with a scaffolding for their lessons by offering questions, examples, and writing prompts. This will be a valuable asset in the classrooms of new and veteran teachers alike." -Molly Meacham, teacher Hello teachers We know you work hard. Besides ninjas, you have the hardest job in the world. Between the teaching, the testing, the grading, and the nurturing it's difficult to seek out new materials for your classroom. We are here to help. As poets and teachers, we know the power of the spoken word in the classroom. All you have to do is attend a youth slam or find a clip of one online and you will see the positive impact modern poetry has on our young people. It is able to engage students from any background in a way that classical poetry simply cannot touch. A complaint we've heard from many teachers is that they would love to use spoken word in their classrooms but they are afraid of getting in trouble with rough language and themes. So behold We asked some of the best contemporary spoken word and slam poets to give us poems that would be appropriate for the classroom.