Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / Author Interview with Jennifer Noel Wilson

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Author Interview with Jennifer Noel Wilson · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Karen, your show host, and today I have a very special guest on the show, author Jennifer Noel Wilson, who'll be sharing about her adorable picture book, The Best Trophy.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Jennifer is an award-winning children's author published in Clubhouse Junior, Cadet Quest, and Keys for Kids Devotional.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Her picture book, The Best Trophy, won the Christian Editor's Choice Award for Excellence.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: With her master's degree from Wheaton College, she has over 25 years of ministry experience.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: And when not writing, Jennifer enjoys training for triathlons, serving in Bible clubs, and adventuring with her family.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Jennifer, welcome to the show.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me, Karen.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's so great to have you.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I just want to start by saying I I love your book.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: It is all about friendship, kindness, doing the right thing.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: The illustrations are adorable.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just super excited to highlight it because I love sharing wholesome books for kids with parents.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: They're not so easy to find these days, but um, parents, this is definitely one you will want to add to your kids' bookshelf.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just super excited to have you here.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just gonna get started to out and ask you a few questions that will help our listeners get to know you and your book.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, first one is just tell us about yourself and how you got started writing.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I am a wife of 25 years.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: My husband and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last month, so that was really exciting.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we have three kiddos, uh, one adult kiddo.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, actually almost two now.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: My middle son will be 18 soon.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then my daughter is a teenager.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're all growing up way too fast.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I as I mentioned, I got my master's in educational ministries from Wheaton College.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I actually started writing in high school.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I did a lot of journaling, wrote maybe a couple of stories just for fun, um, but didn't really get back to it until after I was a mom.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I did try to start some writing in a blog when my kids were little, when they were just babies, but I just decided to put the pen down and really focus on raising them, soaking up every moment with them, you know, and just um spending all my time with them.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say this journey really began about five years ago.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: I started writing some stories again and showed them to a friend, and she encouraged me to keep writing and told me about, you know, writing conferences.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I just started praying and stepping out in faith as God opened the doors and you know, he led me to write for these children's magazines, which I was just really excited about.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: He led me to publish my first book, The Best Trophy.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, God really surprised me.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: I never thought I could do this, so it really is all him.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that is so awesome.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so your your children's book won an award.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's award-winning.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, I won the Christian Editors Choose Choice Award.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And now I'm actually also a finalist for the Christian Indy Award.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's awesome.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it really is.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's such a beautiful book with a sweet story.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what what inspired you to write this particular book?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: The kids I've taught in children's ministry.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've been in children's ministry since college, um, volunteering, serving wherever I can.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: I just, it's my passion.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And for over a decade now, I've been involved in Bible clubs in our public schools.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And just watching those kids pray for each other and supporting each other, cheering each other on, inviting their friends to Bible clubs, they inspired me to write this book about friendships.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in fact, the scene there's a scene in my book where the kids are praying for each other, and that actually comes from a special memory of some girls in my Bible club, because one of the girls was really upset and she was just nervous because her sister was going to be having surgery.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so our girls just wrap their arms around her and we all just started praying.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that's just a really, really precious moment in memory to me.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how I um, you know, got that idea for that scene in my book.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: So that was the spark for the idea for the book.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so tell us a little bit about the main message.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, what do you hope readers take away after reading your book?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my book is based off uh the Bible verse from Ecclesiastes 4, 9 through 10, which says that two are better than one because they can help each other in everything they do.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Suppose one falls down, then the one can help the other one up.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: So when kids read my book, I just hope they see the joy of friendship over winning.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because winning isn't the goal, you know, but we want to be putting others first, praying for and praying for and encouraging each other.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because winning is fun, you know, but there's an even greater reward when we reach out and help a friend.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know about you, but I had, you know, trophies from when I was young that are now in a box in the attic.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they're collecting dust on the shelf.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: But when we reach out to help a friend, that can last an eternity.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're laying up treasures in heaven and God made us for a community.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And like the verse says, you know, two people really are better than one because they really can help each other.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so I know I have a lot of lifelong friendships because of Christ in our lives.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want for our kiddos too.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that is awesome.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I just have to say, your book is special.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: I just highly recommend that parents you add this to your kids' bookshelves.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, where is the best place to find your book?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's on Amazon, all the online stores, you can find it, and my website as well.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and all those links will be in the show notes as well.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's awesome.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, before we close, I did want to ask you, you know, you're a mom with 25 years experience in children's ministry.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, what simple advice would you give parents to help instill in their kids a love for God's word?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: I know that's a big question for a short period of time.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the first thing I think about is just model reading your Bible.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know it can be hard sometimes to have your quiet time with your kids around, but still sometimes do it.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Read your Bible in front of your kids because they mimic what we do, right?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I even have I have a page in my Bible that has scribbles on it, you know, because I let my kids be around when my Bible was open.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love that.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Every time I see that page, it reminds me, hey, they saw me reading my Bible.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: They're mostly grown now, and now I get to see them on their own choosing to read and study their Bibles.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what a blessing that is for me as a mom, you know?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I I wholeheartedly agree.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, our kids they learn best by example, and so to see us doing that, and I and I love what you do.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: My daughter's been doing that as well with her grandson.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's like the kids are right there.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe there'll be scribbles in the Bible, maybe there'll be a lot of interruptions, but that there's something really special about that.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I do believe it plants seeds in their hearts for love for God's word.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, that is great advice.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Jennifer, thank you so much for being on the show and just sharing a little bit about who you are and and your special book.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: I I um again, I just want to send listeners to your website and to grab a copy for their kiddos, and all those links will be in our show notes.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you again, Jennifer, for being here.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you, listeners, for joining us.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, be sure to check back next week for another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: And until then, have a blessed week.