Valerie -Welcome to Book Worthy. On today's bonus episode, we are talking with New York Times bestselling author and longtime children's minister, Joshua Cooley. Joshua's latest book, I Can't Believe My Eyes, is a charming and atmospheric tale that will immerse you in a conversation between father and son. It also models how everyday experiences can be used to help answer your children's big questions in a natural and fun way. This book is coming out in the UK in June and in the US in August.
Welcome to Bookworthy Joshua.
Josh -Hey, Valerie, thank you so much for having me on. Great to be with you.
Valerie -It is my pleasure. Now, since your book deals with helping kids with big questions about God, what is one of the strangest questions your kids or kids in a children's ministry have asked you?
Josh -Yeah, that's a good question. So, you know, they throw some major curve balls at you. They're not always biblical questions either. So I think one really funny question I get often is just about my amazing haircut. And so it's just seem fascinated with that because, you know, I'm not terribly old and but they're like, why don't you have hair? You know, did you do that by yourself or did you know? So anyway. They go down that path and it's pretty fun to mess with them. Sometimes I'm like, wait, I don't have hair? What? Did you steal my hair? Where's my hair? You know?
Valerie -That's too fun. We have a member of our family who was balding and decided to shave his hair ahead. And my kids are always fascinated with like, so he does that on purpose? And like, yeah, he kind of does. So it's always an interesting question. Too fun. Well, Josh, why don't you tell us a little bit about your new book, I Can’t Believe My Eyes.
Josh - Yeah, so it's, I'm so excited. I've been able to have the privilege of writing several books, but this is my first illustrated kids' storybook. So really excited about that. The name of the book is kind of a play on words. So the book is about an adventure that a father and a son go on to explore the existence of God. The dad is trying to help his son understand that we can believe in a God that we can't see. Might not be able to see him with our eyes, but he exists nonetheless. And look at all the evidence around us that points to that. So I can't always believe my eyes.
Valerie -I love that. It is kind of one of those hard concepts for kids to understand that there is a God that we can't see and He is still present and He is everywhere. It is hard to communicate, but I love what you've done in the book just to embrace the questions that kids ask because I think it's when we walk into their world and step into their minds that they get to ask those silly questions sometimes. I think one of my kids asked, does God toot? It was a question I've gotten from my kids and I'm like, all right, all right, let's explore this a little bit. And so, yeah, it's great to engage them in that conversation. What made you want to write a children's book about this concept?
Josh -Yeah, I think one of the biggest things is it's just really important to build strong building blocks of the faith from a young age with kids, you know. So before we get to the intricacies of substitutionary atonement or sanctification, all those big 50-cent theological words, right? Kids just need to learn the basics. They need to know that there's an all-powerful God who loves them and created them for a great purpose. They might not be able to see him with their eyes, but he's very real and the evidence of his existence is overwhelming all around us. So before they get to all the other stuff, I feel like they need to understand that. I mean, that's where the Bible starts, right? Genesis 1 .1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So there's an assumption there that there's a divine, all-powerful, all-knowing creator behind everything. Plus, I just want to encourage parents as you alluded to before,
Valerie, that we need to keep our eyes and our ears open for those random moments throughout the day in everyday circumstances that pop up, you know, sometimes without notice with those questions they ask or just the situation of the day or whatever it is that we can take advantage of those and use those to turn our kids toward eternal truths. They don't have to be big long sermons. It can just be like in the book, a dad using the concept of a breezy, windy fall day where he's raking leaves, his son asks him a question, and off they go on an adventure to explore a really important topic.
Valerie -I think that's great because we can do all the devotionals and keep our kids in the church and do all the to-do list items to try to encourage our kids in the faith. But it's when we engage our kids in the everyday moments, whether it's, look at that sunset, isn't that amazing? You know, and just helping them see the wonder of God or even look, can you imagine how big space is and God is even bigger than that? And just helping them bring God into an everyday conversation rather than just being on Sunday or just when you're sitting down for a family devotion, which is important, but it's one of those if God is present in everything and everywhere, then he can be in every conversation too.
Josh -Yeah, I mean, kids think concretely, right? They think in black and white, especially at the age that this book is going for, ages four to seven. And so we need to give them real-life concrete examples, right? So when we see a windy day, we can say, well, you don't see the wind, right? But we know it exists because of the effects we see around us. The trees and the leaves swaying and a kite flying, how does it stay up there on its own? Well, it's wind, you know? So then we can turn it to from something that they can grasp, that they do comprehend and understand, to something that maybe is a little harder, like the existence of a god that we don't see.
Valerie - Very true. And I love how there are a lot of books in children's literature that have a female figure walking through a kid's day. I love how you've introduced a father figure and just the importance of having that father figure in shepherding their kids. Kind of, what is it? Cause what is it? Also often the father is kind of a child's first concrete example of who God is. And I love how you've welcomed that into this space. Do you have kids of your own, Josh?
Josh -Yeah, so I have four daughters. So, there was something about the father-son relationship that just struck me here. I don't have boys, so that's not my personal experience. But I do remember growing up and having a wonderful dad who spent time with me and answered a lot of my questions, my spiritual questions and otherwise. So it's kind of tying into that. But then, yeah, that father figure portion of the book is really important to me. I don't do it perfectly for sure, but I try to be a representation, again, in an imperfect, very imperfect way of the God that I want them to turn toward. And so, you know, God is called in Scripture our Heavenly Father. And so I think it's really important as parents that we model those things for our kids and that we're open to their questions and that You know, we just, like you said, allow them the space to go on this kind of mental and spiritual adventures that we can point them in the right direction with. So.
Valerie -I love that and though, you know, as parents, we are gonna do it imperfectly, but that also provides us with the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and to model humility and show that we are imperfect, that we are not gonna get this right. Cause I know growing up that there used to be this idea that, you know, parents are always correct. They never do anything wrong. I was like, well, that's not true. Cause I can't perfectly do everything. God's mercies renew every morning, thankfully. And so it's just one of those, in our humanity, we're going to get things wrong. And I think approaching our kids and being willing to be humble, can step into their world, just help them see God for who He is.
Josh -That's right. And you know, if we tell our kids, if they ask us a question and that we don't know, we're not sure, I think it's 100 % okay to say, you know what, buddy, I don't know. But let's explore this and find out together. And man, what a sweet moment for you to maybe open scripture, look through God's Word, to find that answer with them by your side, praying with them like that. To me, that's such a great visual example of faith that they'll remember for a long time, probably more than anything we ever say, just that mom or dad took the opportunity to explore this with me together because they do believe in this God they're telling me to believe in and they're pursuing him. And what a great model, I think, for our kids.
Valerie -Most definitely. And it's one of those that shows kids how to approach the questions that come to them and that their questions are valid, even how silly they can be. And to be like, all right, where do we turn for questions about God? We turn to the Bible. And so to show them this is where we go for our truth. This is where we go to know God, to know about, you know, who we are, how we are to walk in this life as someone who believes in a God we can't see. So I love that. Now, what's kind of the main message you hope kids can walk away from with this book?
Josh -Yeah, I would just say that just to start building those foundational building blocks again they have a rock-solid faith in the God who loves them. And that's going to, they're going to be able to build on that. And then they're going to be able to understand, well, God created
me, he created me for a purpose. I'm not just here randomly. And that's huge, right? That's huge to just have a proper worldview and understanding of why you're here in this world. It's not for selfish reasons. It's not just live and eat and drink for tomorrow we die. There is a true purpose for them. And then, of course, when they understand that there's a loving God behind everything, that opens up a whole new understanding of what he did through sending his son Jesus and just all the concepts of the gospel. The good news is that this loving God worked to save us from our sins which we could not do ourselves.
Valerie -I love that. Now you've written several books more for adults. What led you to write for children in this instance?
Josh -Yeah, so I've read, I've written several books for kids. And I would say that part of it is just because I don't feel like I've ever quite grown up myself. I watched a lot of Looney Tunes and a lot of cartoons when I was growing up, Saturday morning, cartoons were a big
thing. So I'd get my Froot Loops or my Golden Grahams and, you know, park myself in front of the TV for two or three hours. And so anyway, writing for kids, you know, being a previous kids minister, vocationally. And then writing books for kids is just, I think, a natural extension of just loving that innocent, fun spirit of kids. I also think that one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 78, for it says, tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done. So God is a generational God and his message of salvation is primarily passed down through us, right? He uses us to spread the good news, which is an incredible concept. He could have done it anyway, but he uses parents and caregivers to teach and train the next generation. So I just want to be a part of that.
Valerie -I love that. And I think Madeline L'Engle has a quote that says, if you have a book concept that is too heavy, write it for children. And it's one of those like, some really big
concepts are even, you know, challenging for adults and just to help take it down to just something simple for kids to understand and for parents to understand too. Cause we need those reminders too.
Josh -Absolutely. And you know, I think we've all heard the saying, I can't quote it directly, but the beauty of the gospel is that it's simple enough for a child to understand, but it's deep enough where adults will never plumb the depths fully in this lifetime or probably the next, right? So, what a wonderful truth, but I love being able to hopefully try and bring some of those concepts to a kid's understanding so that even at an early age, they can start growing in their faith.
Valerie -That's amazing. Now what's one of the most impactful books in your life, Josh, other than the Bible?
Josh -Yeah. Okay. Well, you, you beat me to the punch there. I would say probably, if it's not the Bible, then you know, as a writer and an editor vocationally, I'd say probably ranking it
number two is the Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition. How boring is that? man. It's, it's a, it's a thousand pages of page-turning fun.
Valerie -That is fascinating reading, isn't it?
Josh - As far as impact, yeah, like I use that every day. But I mean, of course, there's lots of other fun stuff too, you know, from picture books. I mean, I've got a, you know, got a lot of books behind me. I've got walls of just, you know, kids' picture books. So, growing up with Dr. Seuss and Curious George and you know, all that stuff that, that, that has left a lasting impact on, on me and my humor for better or worse.
Valerie -I think, what is it? Children's books had that effect on us that, you know, I tell my kids, you're never too old for a picture book because they just do resonate with that kid inside of us. And I love that. Well, I'm kind of, you know, as you were a children's minister for several years, that's kind of one of the biggest challenges in communicating biblical truths to kids.
Josh -Absolutely. Yeah, that's a great question. I think it's just making sure that you're always speaking their language. So, you know, when I'm on stage presenting something to kids, obviously I can do some stuff with videos, you know, you can do, you know, work in a little movie magic and have a lot of fun there, you know, with props and costumes and all those kinds of things. So that's fun. Just understanding that you need to you don't want to dumb it down because kids can understand a lot more than we think they do. Right. But you also want to keep it at their level and maybe avoid those 50-cent words we were talking about. Or if you use them, you can introduce them, but then explain what they mean in kid terminology and then use lots of, just use lots of illustrations. Right. So again, like about, I can't believe my eyes. I'm taking something that I think every kid will understand a windy fall day raking leaves, flying a kite, right? To teach them concepts that might stretch them a little bit. So I think we can do that with the way we teach kids at church on Sundays. I think we can do that in the way we talk to our kids before they go to bed. I think we can do that in book writing. It's just taking these big truths and packaging them in a way where the light bulb goes on for young minds.
Valerie -Yep. And if not, you know, when they're four to seven, you know, as they grow, like they remember, okay, I read this book once about this concept. Cause I think, what is it? There's a newsboy song that has the, you know, we can't always, we can't see the wind, but we can see the effects of the wind quote at the beginning of one of their songs. And when I got to look at your book, it was like, that reminded me of that DC Talk song. I was like, yes, I remember that quote that's always kind of rolled through your head. There you go. Every person's dream, right?
Josh -Maybe I can go on tour with the DC talk, who knows? I can be that drummer who goes, you know 360 upside down that would be a nightmare
Valerie -There you go. Very fun. Well, Josh, what can we expect next from you?
Josh -Yeah, so man, I'm excited. I've got the privilege of being under contract for a few more books. So, gosh, let me think. I've got another kid's book, a storybook with 10 publishing, my publisher for I Can't Believe My Eyes. This one is going to be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. So it's an Easter book scheduled to be released next January for Easter 2025. That's going to be called, I think it's going to be called Empty. Then I've got a follow-up to my popular Heroes of the Bible Devotional through Tyndale. That's going to be coming out in
2026, which I'm really excited about, featuring all-new Bible characters and some other fun bonus features. And then I was part of a writing team for Tyndale that produced the upcoming Go Bible for Kids, which releases in September. So those are a couple of the projects that I've got working on right now.
Valerie -Sounds like you're a little busy. That's a good busy, that's right. Where can people find out more about you and your books, Josh?
Josh -Yes, yes I am, but it's a good busy. Yeah, thank you. So my website is joshuacoolieauthor .com, my full name. Usually, I hear that when I'm in trouble, but it's also my website. So www.joshuacoolieauthor .com. And then of course people can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, X. I think I have an Instagram account too, although I don't use it too much. And then they can buy books wherever they buy their books online, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, christianbook.com, all that good stuff.
Valerie -Well, wonderful. We'll make sure to have those links in the descriptions for those who are listening. Thank you so much for joining me today, Josh. And thank you for joining Josh and me on this bonus episode of the Bookworthy podcast. Check out the show notes for any books or links that we discussed and let us know in the comments, what is the strangest question your kids have asked you? Be sure to like and subscribe to discover more great books together.
Happy reading.
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