With a delightful new book from author Sally Blass Murray titled “My Mission in the Sky: The First Christmas As Told by the Star of Bethlehem,” children are guided through a narrative of the Christmas story from the perspective of a star shining brightly over the stable in Bethlehem as the Savior was born.
“Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I knew I wanted to write a Christmas book at some point,” Murray said. “As I thought through ideas, I was trying to think of a way to tell the biblical Christmas story in maybe a different way — through an animated character that actually played a big role in the unfolding of this miraculous event.
“Since I also love stars and the way they point us to our amazing Creator and Lord, I decided that the Star of Bethlehem would be the perfect character to bring to life to tell us all that he experienced that night and in the years leading up to that first Christmas.”
Engaging young readers
With vivid illustrations by Abigail Banks Brandenburg, the artwork is designed to engage young readers as they follow the Star’s journey.
“I started thinking through my ideas for this book in 2022 while I was finishing up another book but didn’t begin to really focus on it until last Christmas,” Murray explained. “Most of the work was done over a period of about a year.”
Murray is a member of First Baptist Church Trussville and notes that each of her books is designed to teach life lessons to children in a fun and engaging way. Other books she has written include “When You Take a Cow on a Train: How One Encourager Changes Everything,” the “God Made Me! Who Am I?” series and a musical adventure book called “The Most Fabulous, Wonderful Thing.”
Her next project is a children’s series called “Suzy and Solomon.”
“Solomon is a wise sheep dog who reminds Suzy to make good choices, tells her what the Bible teaches about various subjects and encourages her to ‘paws and pray’ so she can learn to live God’s way,” Murray said.
Throughout the Christmas season, Murray hopes that children and their families will be reminded of the true meaning of the season as they read “My Mission in the Sky” together.
‘Rescue mission’
“I hope that families will share this book together and be reminded of the perfect plan of salvation that God ordained from the beginning of time,” Murray said. “I hope they enjoy the beauty of the true, biblical story of Christ’s coming to earth. I hope parents will want to use the Scripture guide in the beginning of the book to point out things in the text that are explained in God’s Word.
“On the very last page, I added a very child-friendly and simple explanation of the gospel. While the book is called ‘My Mission in the Sky,’ which refers to the star’s mission, I go on to explain the rescue mission that brought Jesus to earth that night. I hope boys and girls hear and understand the love that Jesus has for them and that they understand that He came to save us all. I pray that they will respond by giving their hearts to Him. That is the ultimate goal of this book.”
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