Richard & Pat -

Thanks for your post.  What an amazing story!  And what a blessing to know that our little book has touched so many lives so deeply.  God bless you as you continue to rebuild your home, and build your children into men and women of faith!

Please pass on my personal greetings to your children.

Arnold Ytreeide

We first began reading Jotham's Journey many years ago when our favorite homeschool supplier Timberdoodle included the book as a free gift for our order. We added Tabitha's Travels and Bartholomew's Passage as they came out, reading a different book each year for advent. Our older children never tired of them (nor did we:-), and we always had younger children who hadn't heard or couldn't remember that year's book so each year felt timeless, comfortable, yet somehow new. Last year's advent reading began on Sunday, November 30, 2008 and we chose Bartholomew's Passage. It was going to be a different sort of advent for us as the oldest 2 boys (of 12 children) had just gotten their own apartment the week before, and my husband's aging parent's had come to live with us that fall. I remember reading Sunday night and Monday night. There was always much discussion about the circumstances the main character was going thru. We had reassured the children both evenings that altho we were unlikely to face Bartholomew's exact circumstances, there was much for us to learn in what he was going thru. On Tuesday evening, December 2, the children had just come in from spending the day at with their brothers at the new apartment. We planned to decorate the already assembled tree and read our Advent story right after my husband and I took his parents out to run a couple of errands and grab a bite to eat. Three of our oldest four had a Bible study at the apartment with friends that evening, but the other older son came with us to eat as did one of the younger children. This left 7 children at home with our 16-year-old daughter, munching on dessert and planning our decorating. We were gone about 45 minutes. Almost home on the return trip, our neighbor called to say our house was on fire just as I pulled over for some fire trucks racing past me. The neighbors had rescued the children and were standing across the street watching the firefighters when we pulled up; people up and down the street were bringing coats and blankets and socks and warm drinks for us for hours while we stood out there. Praise the Lord that all of our children were safe, even the ones who drove at 110 miles an hour to get to us when they heard the house was on fire! But our real adventure had just begun, and it continues to this day. For several months last winter, relatives attempted to help house all 14 of us. Friends, neighbors, and total strangers donated clothes and toys and meals and even building supplies! Once the damaged walls and roof sections were replaced, all by volunteer labor, we chose to return to our home where the rebuilding continues slowly almost a year later. We are amazed at how God prepared our children's hearts for what was to come! Bartholomew's Passage was such a blessing to us as it caused us to have discussions with them that we might have missed otherwise. The children have already begun asking if we can read Bartholomew's Passage again this year, and we have assured them we will! We thought you might like to know how much your books have blessed our family. Thank you. Blessings, Richard & Pat Noe

Thank you for your prompt answer to my question about the research that went into Jotham's Journey and for your philosophy. The books are so captivating and at the same time encourage one to honor and obey God, exactly what I wanted to read to the students. I can't wait to share your reply with them!
God bless you!
Audrey

Thanks for the questions from your students.  A great deal of research went into these books, to make them as authentic as possible.  In all, I probably read about 40 books, including some Biblical dictionaries.  Some of those books I found torn and tattered at used book stores.  I especially looked for information about how people lived in the times of Jesus -- how did kids play?  What did the wear?  What did they eat?  How did they sleep?  I also looked for information about the places Jotham and friends visited -- En Gedi, Qumran, and so forth.  I was able to draw some inferences from the archaeology of those places.  Because we just don't know a lot of things, not everything in the books is fact (I think I made up the game "Donkey Dunking" for instance) but all of it is at least similar to the kinds of things people did and the way they lived in the time of Jesus. 

As for Decha -- he's purely from my imagination (thank goodness!) although Meggido is a real place. 

But finally, let me say this to your students: I have a philosophy (and I'll let you explain to them what that means) that people are people no matter the time or place that they live.  We all come from the same God, all have a need to love and be loved, all are a bit selfish, and so on.  Because of that, I believe that, whether it's today in Casper, Wyoming or two thousand years ago on the other side of the world, people cry when they lose a loved one, are happy when they get married, work to make life a little easier, get mad when we don't get our own way, and do all the other things people do.  And sometimes little boys get mad and run away from home, no matter when or where they live.  So much of the behavior of my characters is based on observing what people today do.

I'm reading Jotham's Journey to the 5th and 6th graders at school and they are loving it. They have asked how much research went into the historical parts of the story (actual information about cities, etc.) and they especially wonder if Decha was a historical character. When I finish Jotham's Journey, I will read Bartholomew's Passage, and I know they will enjoy it just as much.

Will the books due for release (such as Mystery of the Temple Court) be announced via email to logged-in customers when available?

We haven't yet heard from the publisher what the release date will be -- it's something we have no control over.  It's possible that, due to the economy, they'll delay it a year.  But we'll certainly post it on the front page of this site once we know.

Is Mystery of the Temple Court going to be ready for Lent this year, 2009? I certainly hope so. JL

We have secret sisters at our church, and this year mine has gone out of her way. For Christmas, I received the book, Jotham's Journey. I could not believe it because our son's name is Jotham, and it is rarely seen. Many people thought it was a special order personalized book because they couldn't believe there was actually a book with the name Jotham in the title! I found your website and have greatly enjoyed reading about the book and the author! I am not sure how my secret sister found out about it, but I will ask her as soon as I find out who she is!

Lisa
Kansas

Am going to be anxiously awaiting the reprint!! We have two of the three and are shocked at how much people are asking for their used copy!
Thank you!

I am thrilled to hear that the 2nd and 3rd books in the trilogy will be available next summer. We have read Jotham the last three Advent seasons and can't wait to add the next two to our library! I only wish they were available this year! Thanks so much for making these books available again!