As some of you may have noticed, the store at shop.learnasyougrow.com has been closed. Due to declining activity levels, it no longer made sense to maintain the store. We have also removed the store page from our site and corresponding links.

We will continue to promote and sell God Loves You So Much…. through other channels. In addition, the store may be reopened as we release additional books and/or if activity levels increase.

In the meantime, if you would like to order a copy through the site, please send a request through the “Contact Us” page and we will make the necessary arrangements.

Thank you for your continued support of Learn As You Grow.

I had the pleasure of attending a powerful retreat last weekend called One Year to Live.

One Year to Live was developed by Lutheran Men in Mission in partnership with Lyman Coleman, CEO and founder of Serendipity Publishing House. It is a lay led event that is designed to be “life changing”. Based on the impact I saw in those attending, it definitely lives up to that claim.

I was able to attend with my dad and brothers, which made the event even better. However, I recommend the retreat for any men reading this post or the men in your life. The retreat is expanding across the country, so there will be more opportunities to attend in the future.

Check it out!

I knew my posts were becoming more sporadic, but just realized it has been several weeks since my last post.

I could write down several excuses, but sometimes pictures just say more.

Until this mess is straight, my posts will likely be less consistent. However, I wanted you to know Learn As You Grow is still here and should have some interesting developments in the coming months.

I read this week on Publishers Weekly that Brown Street Books in Rhinelander, WI was closing its doors.

Joan Belongia, the owner of Brown Street Books, stated that several factors contributed to her decision. “Kindle, Nook, paperback discounts at Barnes and Noble, Amazon…I just can’t compete,” she explained. Sales at Brown Street Books have dropped 5% each year for the past two years. Christmas sales were lackluster this year, and a huge snowstorm in January halved sales to teachers and librarians at an annual event held offsite that was sponsored by the regional reading council.

The article also quotes her as saying, “I think with Borders closing, publishers will raise prices. What else can they do? Borders is gone, and booksellers will bear the brunt of it.” 

As we accept and adapt to new technology, I hope there is still room for independent book stores. They are really something to treasure, not cast aside.

I have been reviewing some old posts and came across one from Literacy News listing 3 ways parents can help a struggling reader. The article suggests:

1. Parental Involvement 

2. Get Expert Advice

3. Encourage Reading at Home

The article seems to indicate they are listed in priority or sequential order, but it seems that focusing on 1 & 3 early should reduce the need for the second.

I understand the need for professional assistance in some cases, but also believe parents have a tremendous amount of control (and responsibility) over the literacy of their children.

Read early and often!

It sounds like a bad remake of the first video ever played on MTV.

When music videos gained in popularity some predicted a significant impact on radio stations. While new technologies can definitely impact current and adjacent technologies, I think the impact of music videos fell short of expectations. The economics of the radio station may have changed over the years, but most are still operational and MTV rarely plays music videos any longer.

Over the past few years, it seems that history was repeating itself as many predicted eBooks would bring the demise of physical books and “brick-and-mortar” stores.  

I know from speaking with some of you that Kindles, iPads, and other devices are used quite frequently by readers of this blog. However, many of you still enjoy and buy physical books as well.

Considering my background and “day job”, I am very accepting of new technologies and optimistic about what they offer. However, I have to admit the timing and degree of the eBook impact has surprised me a bit.

Adoptions rates have been very high with many outlets now reporting higher sales of eBooks than physical books. While there are many factors at play in the Border’s saga, its seems that eBooks likely contributed to the financial issues at one of the nations largest book stores.

I was fairly sure eBooks would find a successful market, but I definitely underestimated the timing and impact they would have on the book industry.

What about you? Are you at all surprised by the adoption rates? What % of books do you purchase in electronic format?

I have a new book idea. I think it would be very interesting and the concept is quite important to me. This book would target older children and teenagers, which is a new target audience and requires a new book format.

As excited as I am about the idea, I detect some hesitation in pressing forward. At first, I thought it was the new format and associated challenges, but then realized that wasn’t it. I am actually concerned about the target audience and whether it will be difficult to interest them in the topic and reach them with the intended meaning.

I wonder if teenagers (since I don’t have any yet) will read books based on religion and Christian values. Are they open to these topics? Does peer pressure force them to avoid content of this sort? Obviously, the book has to be well-written and keep their attention, but will they give it a chance?

I would love to hear from those of you with teenagers now or in the past. Would your teenagers be interested in books promoting Christian topics and values? Will (or would) they openly read and discuss these books with their friends?

I hope they would (and will), but I was a teenager once as well.

Literacy News recently posted an article on the importance of family literacy goals.

The article starts with an alarming statistic that ”54 percent of American parents do not take the time out to read stories to their children.”  It then defines a family literacy goal as an ”activity in which the family sets certain goals aimed at improving their writing and reading abilities.” 

The posting also lists a few methods to use in setting family literacy goals, including:

1) Reading books- Book goals are set to keep track of reading progress. This can either be an individual activity or a family activity.

2) Word games- This is a very popular method in setting literacy goals. Word games help nurture literacy in the families while having fun. “Using scores to measure the different members progress is a great way of using word games to set family literacy goals.”

The article concludes by listing why setting family literacy goals is important:

a) Gives clarity in achieving your target.

b) The first step towards achieving the goal of literacy is goal setting.

c) Also provides a great bonding opportunity for the family.

d) Setting goals together also helps in developing commitment.

e) Literacy goal setting also helps develop different abilities.

First, I think it is a wonderful idea to set formal literacy goals for your family and had not previously consider the value of this approach. In addition, the approach and suggested activities sound like a fun way to bring the family closer together, while working towards combined literacy goals.

Good stuff!

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by the Mount Horeb Mail newspaper and they ran a detailed article today on Learn As You Grow and the process of writing and publishing God Loves You So Much.

We covered substantial ground during the interview and that shows in the article. It is interesting to see the information they thought would interest their readers and the content from the interview left out of the article.

Very exciting times at Learn As You Grow.

Thanks Gary!

Thank You Union Chapel for inviting Learn As You Grow to do a personal appearance today.

There was great participation and it was fun meeting with people excited about God Loves You So Much. In addition to the event today, God Loves You So Much is the Book-of-the-Month for June AND will be used as part of the curriculum for their children’s programming this month. I am very pleased and honored that this message will be touching so many individuals through these opportunities.

A special thanks to Cindy and the UC Book Store staff for the opportunity and their hospitality. Congratulations to Lois and Mary – the winners of the raffle drawing!

It was a great event and I definitely appreciate the opportunity.

God Bless!