Several years ago, we discovered my 8 year-old niece was being bullied at school. It was heartbreaking to see how withdrawn and cowed she became. And I wished she had a book she could read before school to remind her of all the magnificent things God says about her—instead of what the bullies were saying.

So I had to write one. It’s called Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. And it became a book of hope for children. (We soon discovered it had become a book of hope for their grown-ups, too.)

Each week on Instagram we share a thought taken from the book. We’ve collected 10 of your favourites here.

If a child you love is trying to make sense of their emotions or struggling with fear or the dark or needs some hope before school or at bedtime, you might enjoy reading Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing together.

“Of all the incredible things God made, which do you think is the most amazing? Is it the Grand Canyon? Or the Milky Way? What about the North Pole? Or Mount Everest? Or sunsets? Or starfish? Or the cheetah? Do you know what God says is the best, most magnificent, incredible thing he has ever made? You.”

From “In All the Earth!”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Don’t be afraid, Little Flock, I’m your Good Shepherd. You have everything you need.”

From “Good Shepherd”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“A preacher called David Martyn Lloyd-Jones sometimes asked people, “Are you a Christian?” If they said, “I’m trying!” he knew they didn’t really understand. Because being a Christian isn’t about trying. It’s about trusting. Trusting not in what you must do. But in what God has done. And he has done EVERYTHING!”

From “Trying and Trusting”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Imagine you’re on a hike up a big mountain and you lose your foothold. Just before you plunge over the precipice, you spot a branch. Do you need to believe in that branch for it to save you? You don’t worry about that— you just grab it! Faith is like grabbing on to that branch. We just reach out for God. And he is the one who saves us.”

From “Believing and Doubting”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Are you listening to yourself today…or talking to yourself? When you wake up in the morning, you can listen to whatever your thoughts are telling you—maybe they are reminding you of something bad you did the day before, maybe they are making you scared of something you have to do tomorrow. You can listen and feel horrible. Or you can talk back. You can remind yourself of what is true, and who you are, and who God is and what he has done. You can say something like: ‘Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God!’ Psalm 42:11”

From “Talk to Yourself!”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“God wants us to come to him, like a child comes to her daddy. When we’re afraid. When we’re worried. If we’re happy. If we’re sad. However we feel. It doesn’t matter. He wants us to come to him for everything. Some people think God doesn’t like to be troubled with us asking him things all the time. But do you know the way to trouble him? By not coming at all.”

From “Are We Troubling God?”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Are you ever afraid? Do what baby chicks do! At the first sign of danger—if there’s a storm coming or a hawk hovering—a mother hen spreads out her wings and clucks to her babies, and they run straight under her feathers. The mother draws her wings in tight, tucking every one of her little chicks safely under her. Nothing can touch those babies. And we have a Heavenly Father who says he loves us and cares for us like that. When we are afraid, he tells us to run to him. We can nestle up under his wings. And he will protect us.”

From “Under His Wings”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Jesus says there is nothing broken that won’t be mended, nothing sick that won’t be healed, nothing dead that won’t live again. Because God is making everything sad come untrue! We can’t see it now—but remember the fruit tree in winter? It looks dead. But the buds are ready to go. And come spring—blossom and fruit!”

From “Winter”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Faith is resting in who God is and what he has done. And he has done EVERYTHING.”

From “Resting and Relying”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

“Even when the shepherd finds his lost sheep it goes rushing all about—and the only way he can round it up is to seize it, hurl it to the ground, bind its legs, and throw it over his shoulders and carry it home.

The poor sheep doesn’t understand. It thinks it’s being captured—killed! But the shepherd is saving its life. And sometimes we don’t understand what God is doing in our lives either. It may even look like God is hurting you. But you can trust your Shepherd, who loves you. He carries you close to his heart.”

From “Close To His Heart”, Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing

Find more hope and encouragement in our book, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing.