1KHO 636: | My Call Is To Bring Joy To Children | Sally Lloyd-Jones, Jesus, Our True Friend: Stories to Fill Your Heart with Joy⁠

In this tender and hope-filled conversation, Ginny sits down with beloved children’s author Sally Lloyd-Jones, whose Jesus Storybook Bible has shaped the spiritual childhood of millions of kids (including the Yurichs’!). Sally shares her remarkable backstory - being born in Uganda, growing up in East and West Africa, going to boarding school at age eight, and how God used both beauty and early wounds to form her as a writer. She and Ginny talk about her brand-new book Jesus, Our True Friend: Stories to Fill Your Heart with Joy, and what it means to write children’s stories that are playful, deeply theological, and never “dumbed down.” Along the way, Sally explains the heart behind unforgettable phrases like “extra super holy people,” why Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding is all about restoring joy, and how good children’s books quietly preach hope without ever becoming preachy.

The conversation also turns deeply personal as Ginny shares the painful story of her family being kicked out of their church after raising concerns about a youth pastor who was later arrested on multiple felony charges. Together, she and Sally reflect on spiritual abuse, disillusionment with “extra super holy” leaders, and the miracle of God still meeting children directly in the middle of heartbreak. Ginny tells how her youngest daughter found comfort and theological clarity in the Joseph story from the Jesus Storybook Bible, using Sally’s words to interpret her own church trauma and see God’s redemption at work. From bullied kids to exhausted “Martha” moms, from online mobs to stone-throwers in Scripture, this episode is a balm for anyone who needs to remember that Jesus is a true friend who loves us before we ever “get it right", with a never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.

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