Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Recently I've been going through some of the children's books in my office at church.  One of the things I'd like to do for Lent is recommend a few books for parents and children to read together.  While looking through some of the books I've collected, I found this one, which, as it turns out, is exactly perfect for Valentine's day:  Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch.

I picked up this book a few years ago at my favorite restaurant/bookstore/meeting place, St. Martin's Table, which closed this past December.  St. Martin's Table featured healthy soups, sandwiches and salads, great homemade desserts, and lots of books with themes of nonviolence, social justice and Biblical studies.  Oh, and a selection of quality children's books, too.

Whenever I walked into St. Martin's Table, I could count on Kathleen to get a stack of books that she thought I would like.  If I was not meeting someone, I could look through the books on my own, and decide which ones I would like to purchase.  Kathleen was always excited about the new arrivals.  "Mr. Hatch" was one of the books she was really excited about.

You'll need to read it for yourself, but its theme:  the power of love to transform a life.  Oh, if only we in the church truly lived the power of the gospel, the explosive at the heart of our existence.

Happy Valentine's Day.