Hello, Everyone! This is a somewhat unusual blog post in a few ways. First, it is written by me (Anna Marie). Second, Sarah doesn’t know I’m writing it. And third, it’s announcing a special little milestone for Sarah!
I recently began readingSummer with the Moodys to our oldest three children (who are loving it). As I flipped open the book, I saw that it was originally published in November 2003. That means…
Sarah Maxwell
This month marks the fifteen-year anniversary of the first Moody book publication!
I know there are a lot of Moody fans out there, and as Christopher and I were talking, we were thinking about young adults in their 20’s who started reading Moody books 15 years ago and are now beginning to raise their own family. If so, and if any are still following the blog, we thought it would be fun to hear from “original” Moody book readers – favorite memories or impact the series had on you, etc. Maybe, like me, you enjoyed reading them with siblings while you were younger, and now find yourself reading them to your own children!
With love,
Anna Marie
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17
Eternity. That’s what matters. As you moms pour yourselves into your children and do the daily tasks—wiping the runny noses, reworking yet another math problem, looking into the eyes of a child who just disobeyed—more than anything, you desire to see Jesus in their lives.
Do you know that a simple reading book can be an excellent discipleship tool, all through an engaging storyline? Check out the Moody Family Series. 10 titles plus 2 Christmas stories that will inspire your children to be more like Jesus and share Him with others. Remember, you receive free shipping at $35 from Titus2. It’s our way to bless you!
Read what two moms just shared with us regarding the fruit from Moody books in their children’s lives. To me, this makes writing all worth it.
My daughter, Emma (7), has even begun witnessing to other children she meets using the “Good Person” test. This week already she’s witnessed to 4 people (1 brother, 1 cousin, and 2 kids at the park). There are also times when I’ll hear my children saying to each other, “Would the Moodys do (act, say) _____?” I’m as excited as the kids wanting to know what happens next as the stories continue. I find myself relating to Emily Moody at times and even feel convicted about certain areas in my life as we read along. Mandi
I have to tell you, Samuel’s been an avid, excellent reader since age 3.5 (he’s 7 now), and it’s SO HARD to find him books. We’ve found a few we thought were ok, and he’d promptly start them and say, “Nope. This one isn’t good because of (insert issue here).” He was just beaming reading yours. I was showing him how you add your “Not All Fiction!” section at the end of each book. His eyes widened, and he said, “WAIT! You mean the Moodys aren’t a REAL family?” Hahahaha! He was partly crushed and partly amused! He just loves them. He’s read the whole series like three times now! And he’s been writing out the Bible verses you chose in your books, and he’s been giving them to doctors, repair people, etc. He was very inspired by how the Moodys shared Jesus with others! Kelli
“And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” (Jude 1:22)
What I’m going to share below is the sort of thing that makes my day. Six-year-old Olivia drew a picture of the Moodys to help her four-year-old brother keep track of the characters. It’s a pretty amazing picture, and this young lady is only 6! If you don’t have a set of the Moody books, grab your copy now!
Love, Sarah
“The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.” Psalm 64:5
It truly is amazing to have the book in hand and going out the door. I am so grateful for the Lord’s guidance over these past 12 years as I’ve written the Moody books.
I often hear how grateful families are for my writing style and for the blessing of wholesome stories for their children. My next story is already in the planning stages (see last picture as I begin exploring small towns).
Anna’s been shipping Colorado with the Moodyseverywhere. Not only to the United States but to many other countries, so the Moodys go international yet again!
Love, Sarah
It was an exciting day when we went to pick the books up from the printer.
A salted caramel mocha on the way back.
Anna shipping
Sweet sister times as we explored two small towns today (and yes, another salted caramel mocha!).
“Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” 2 Corinthians 8:21
Surprises are a wonderful, and Anna Marie knows just how to pull off a surprise celebration. She decided to have a surprise Moody Book party for Sarah. I have to add a little sis-in-law promotion. Anna Marie is super sweet, and she knows just how to make someone feel special.
Here is the list of events as they unfolded.
Mary and I were playing with the kiddos on Friday morning at Gigi’s house when Anna Marie popped over to discuss the party food. We came up with a long list of foods that were in the Moody books (mostly desserts) and started weeding them down. We ended up deciding to keep it simple—homemade pizza and sugar cookies—because there was so much to fit into one evening besides eating.
Hmm… wonder if someone was sampling a cookie.
Plans were coming together. The day before the party, we had Aunties’ playtime at Anna Marie’s house so Sarah wouldn’t come visit us. Mary let each of the girls take turns helping her make the cookies while I played with the littles outside. We then finished with a walk, staying away from our house because we didn’t want any little girls to announce that we had been making cookies.
Anna Marie busily worked on creating a sign and other projects while the rest of us felt a bit helpless, because we couldn’t do too much without Sarah knowing.
Abigail and Bethany frosted all the cookies and put sprinkles on top.
Tuesday, party day, rolled around, and things were finally coming together. Joseph and Elissa asked Sarah for some last minute help before dinner in order to allow us to finish the party preparations. Otherwise Sarah would wonder where we were all going. Yay! We could finally talk again as we raced over to Anna Marie’s.
Everyone was bursting at the seams with excitement.
Christopher called Joseph to see if Joseph would ask Sarah to drop a tool off at Christopher’s on her way home.
Sarah texted us to let us know that she would be a little late for dinner.
Christopher was out front “working” when she pulled in.
She gave him the tool, and Christopher asked if she could go inside for a minute because Anna Marie wanted to show her something.
Everyone had gathered at the end of the front hallway. As she walked through the door, we all said, “Surprise” and then told her we were celebrating the completing of her Moody book series.
Anna Marie’s surprise worked.
After dinner, the little ones went outside for a Moody I-J-N (In Jesus’ Name) project, picking up sticks at a widow’s house (aka Gigi’s house).We had Bible time and read 1 Corinthians 13, just like the Moodys did in one of their books.
We then played a Moody trivia game that I had written. It had everyone thinking hard and laughing hysterically as they tried to answer questions like, “Who was Mr. Adams?” Abby was the only one to get that one right.
Even Abby, Bethany, and Tina played.Meanwhile, Andrew occupied himself by trying to turn summersaults.
Nathan got 1st place, Sarah 2nd place, and Abby 3rd place. Nathan has been reading the Moody books to his family in the evenings so they got almost all the questions right—even more than Sarah!
We closed out the evening with one of the games the Moodys enjoyed playing—rhythm.
Anna Marie did an amazing job of planning and coming up with a festive Moody-themed party! We all had a blast together that night.
Congrats to you, Sarah, on a job well done!
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
Almost two weeks ago, Dad and I picked up the new Moody books, along with some other books we reprinted. It is wonderful to finally have Exciting Times and Christmas Comes to Sunflower in hand.
For those who may not know, the Moody Family books are geared toward a 7-13 year old reading comprehension level, but if the books are used as a read aloud, children as young as 3 or 4 understand.
I received a sweet e-mail from a mom yesterday, and then a note on a MOTH registration today.
“I was just going to send you an e-mail to let you know how much my daughter has enjoyed the Moody books. I bought the first one two years ago. My 7 year old daughter loved it, so I bought the rest of the series. She has read the first 8 three times!! She talks about the Moodys like they are friends of hers. “Max did this,” or “Mollie said that.” She has started cooking, cleaning, and wanting to serve people. She gives your books all the credit! I got on your website to get an e-mail address when I saw your new book. I was so excited. Please keep writing! It’s so hard to find wholesome Christian books for my children to read. We will keep buying them if you keep writing! 🙂 We have made the chocolate chip cookies and the fiesta casserole. Great recipes! Thanks for sharing them.” –Leigh
“We LOVE the Moody books! My 3 year old likes to pretend she is Maddie. The Moodys are a beautiful, fictional family that we strive to be like! They even started us having family devotions.” –April
This is the press they printed the Exciting Times covers on.
Anna has done a great job packing orders and sending them out to homes around the world.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
The Maxwell family and ministry blog of Titus2.com.
