Library Lady - Confession

Hello!  I'm the Library Lady, and I'll be visiting every week during Lent to recommend books that relate to the themes of the liturgy.  The books I suggest will be perfect for younger members of the church to read or share with their parents, and I know that some of the choir members will even be using these titles during children's sermons.  The goal is to spark discussions among families and invite our younger members into the conversation taking place at Bethany throughout Lent.

The theme this week is Confession, so I want to tell you about a book titled "I'm Sorry" by Gina and Mercer Mayer.  The book features the well-known character of Little Critter.  In this book, he learns the importance of apologizing when he does something wrong.  Even if it's just a mistake, you still need to say "I'm sorry."  Even further, it's important to be more careful and try to do better.  That's the same thing we do at the beginning of worship when we say the confession, telling God that we are sorry for our sins.

There are plenty of other great books in the library that remind us of the importance of heartfelt apologies.  In the book "Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying," the main character learns that she's wrong to believe that "You don't actually have to mean I'm sorry 'cause nobody can even tell the difference."  In fact, a contrite heart and desire for forgiveness is an important part of confession.

Another of my favorite books on this theme is "The Berenstain Bears and the Truth."  Curious George also seems to be getting into trouble all of the time and apologizing for his mistakes.  There are lots of great books on this theme, and I hope you get the chance to at least one this week.  If you do, I hope you'll share your thoughts, and I'll be back next week with more recommendations.