Emilia’s thoughts are saturated with wishes. She wishes she had her own bed instead of having to share one with her sister; that she could eat sugary cereal for breakfast instead of the toasted tortillas her mama makes; that her family had a new car instead of the clunky old truck they get around in
Acoustic Worship SessionsBy Clark BeckhamReviewed by Paul DelgerSinger, songwriter, and American Idol alum (season 14) Clark Beckham puts his spin on six modern worship tunes with his project, “Acoustic Worship Sessions.”“I think the elements of this record have always been in me, I just didn't know
In this readily accessible, detailed, and thought-provoking exploration of the intimate connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament, author Ian Vaillancourt invites readers to peruse an aerial view, “a big-picture understanding of the Old Testament story and some of its links to Chri
Mica Miller was a woman of faith who told her social media followers over and over how much God loved them. It is Mica’s unwavering belief in God and her desire to serve him that saves this three-episode documentary from being just another true crime series.“There’s an incredible danger in unmet nee
I’ve never started an organization, but I imagine most people come up with a plan before they have somewhere to work from. Not Ruben Garcia and the other young adults who got together in an abandoned El Paso building belonging to the Catholic Church, which the local bishop loaned to them for free.At
Author Frank G. Honeycutt’s fascinating exploration of the connection between genealogy and theology takes readers into the lives of two of his ancestors and how their circumstances and actions influenced the person he became.In 1908, Honeycutt’s great-grandfather Sheriff Frank Honeycutt of Concord,
Hafsa Imtiaz is impatient to realize her dream of becoming a doctor when she’s an adult, so, without her parents’ knowledge, she applies to the Bukhari Summer Science Camp in Lahore, Pakistan, a distance away from the village in which she lives. When she’s accepted at the camp, Hafsa is afraid her p
Madison Street Worship, the musical arm of Gateway Church in Shelbyville, Tenn., offers a stirring nine-song live set titled, Who Is Like the Lord.“Our prayer is that this project would be an invitation for people to experience the presence of God and respond to him in worship,” said Harley Rowell i
In her captivating memoir, author Rachel Weaver describes what it’s like to live in “landlocked seasickness” as she did for most of her young-adult life. One part of her tried to maintain a relatively normal life; the other part of her was “crippled by fear in a world I couldn’t control.” Her brain
This charming picture book celebrating God’s good gift of children (and other creatures) was first published in 2000 and has sold more than 2 million copies. Now, it has been released in a deluxe format, which includes blank pages on which parents and children can add notes about the newest member o
Note: The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This interview by Adelle M. Banks was published on Aug. 21, 2026, on religionnews.com. It has been edited for length and Banner style.(RNS) — A decade after her farewell tour, multi-Grammy-winning Christian singer
Mother-daughter team Jean Stoffer and Grace Start, hosts of their TV show The Established House, join forces with illustrator Megan Lindsey in this tender children’s picture book, which develops the theme of Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his step” (NKJV).In introd
From the first drum beats of Bronze Age percussion in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, moviegoers know they have entered an ancient and otherworldly dimension. The score, by Ludwig Göransson, feels different than any other score; its instruments are replicas of those depicted in Greek and Roman art.
Author Matthew Erickson, senior pastor of Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee, Minn., asserts that a fresh metaphor for pastoral ministry is needed in North America today in a time when pastors continue to grapple with the confusion and after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent global events
In 1969, struggling country artist Kris Kristofferson piloted a helicopter across Louisiana while musing about a new song. According to C. M. Howell, as he looked at the landscape, the “narrative of adventure and sudden love, of finding meaning in wandering from one city to another, and the danger o
Based on author Nessa Bally’s childhood in Trinidad, this lyrically narrated and energetically illustrated picture book relates her experience of having the electricity go off. In an author note, Bally writes, “In Trinidad, we have blackouts from time to time. Electricity is fondly referred to as ‘c
Many movies and films nowadays speak to modern day concerns surrounding mental health and feelings of loneliness. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, does the same. It picks up where viewers were left in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film follows Peter Parker, played by the
When author Laura Boonstra and her husband Phil began their fostering journey, they had no idea what they would encounter: the contrasting emotions of joy and sorrow, the dramatic changes to their vision of what constitutes a family, their growing desire to seek justice for mistreated refugee foster
We all have those family members who seem to know more about us than we do about them. D.K. Furutani, author of When Mikan Road Was Ours, is a master at conveying the awkwardness of that feeling. When his protagonist, who works as an English professor, attends a great-uncle’s funeral, a cousin he do
When several children spend a day at the beach, each engages curiously, imaginatively, and playfully with what he or she discovers.A girl finds a shell, and thinks, “This is just a shell. Or is it? / To a clam, it’s a door. / To an octopus, it’s a shield. / And to an otter, it’s a tool. / But to me,