I've never been known to melt at the sight of little children. I always loved my own, but I didn't go nuts over other peoples' kids. That is, I didn't go nuts until I became a grandmother (a very young grandmother, thank you). Suddenly I saw the world differently. I suppose that when I was younger and dealing with my own children I was just always grateful to have time to myself. I wasn't interested in dealing with someone else's child.

But age and distance have caused a change in me. I see children differently now. I hope I'm starting to see them as God sees them. When they're young they're still open to wonder and surprise. They're not yet jaded by disappointments and betrayals. They're at a place where they still believe the things they are told. It's true that they are also very selfish, impulsive and demanding. These undesirable traits have not yet been trained out of them. And in all honesty, they never will be. Even we adults are selfish, impulsive and demanding at times. But we've learned to put a pretty face on it when we need to. We've become more cunning and subtle in our selfishness. We are all fallen, and these ugly traits are difficult to overcome. Children, on the other hand, wear their selfishness on their sleeves. Oh well, at least we know where we stand with them.

But there's one other thing that I've started to see now that I'm older and have more perspective. We all know that children are the future. But have we really considered how we can have a direct impact on the future through our children? If any of us were raising a prodigy, we would go out of our way to ensure they got the education and training required to bloom into all they were capable of. After all, they might be the next Einstein or Mozart. But what if our children might be the next Peter or Paul, or Athanasius or Martin Luther? Shouldn't we go out of our way to ensure they also bloom into all that they can possibly be? Even if they're not the next Martin Luther, any Christian training they get will bear eternal fruit. So it's a win-win situation all around.

These ideas seemed strange to me at first, since I'd never given children much thought. But God works in remarkable ways, and we should all be careful not to close any doors that God might want to keep open. For example, I have been a teacher, speaker and author for adults for nearly thirty years. I love teaching adults and have never considered doing anything else. I never imagined myself teaching children, and honestly, I didn't want to. Whenever I was at church and would hear a plea for workers in the childcare center or children's Sunday school class, I would immediately shake my head. "Not me," I'd whisper to my husband. "I did my time when my kids were young."

But then God placed on my heart the idea for a children's series. I'd like to complete my Doctorate in Apologetics, and was itching to do something with it. But my thoughts were always toward adults. This is why the thought of doing a children's series was so foreign. However, God helped me to understand that children would be the very best place to start. By the time someone is an adult they've already got so many things fixed in their minds. It is harder to unlearn some of that stuff. But children haven't yet learned it, so they are almost a blank slate (depending on their age, of course).

Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, GA, mentioned that a lot of children grow up with what he calls' child-faith'1. This is great until they go off to college or enter the workforce. Suddenly that 'child-faith' can't stand up against non-Christian worldviews such as philosophical naturalism, materialism and evolution. What most often happens is that a young person's faith is shattered, and then they become bitter toward the Church. In fact, many of the most outspoken Atheists were once ardent Christians. They can often articulate the doctrine of Christianity better than Christians. But something happened and they turned away.

So, believing that God was putting this work on my heart, I began the children's series Heaven's Little Warriors. It's been slow going, but very rewarding. I am absolutely terrified of teaching bad theology, so I include plenty of Scripture references, and have other people read each story before I ever let it out for general use. And I'm having fun learning to distill some deep Apologetic arguments into pictures and words that even young children can understand. The beauty of it is that the parents can learn, too, as they read the stories to their kids. And the pictures help the illustrations along.

Naturally, I have my own grandchildren in mind when I make these stories. I would not want to publish anything that I wouldn't let my own children and grandchildren read. But one day I was previewing one of the books to two of my granddaughters. They sat there quietly, listening, and didn't say much. So I wondered if the stories were too complicated. But later on one of them made a comment referencing the book, and it warmed my heart. They had gotten it after all. And not only that, but it had stuck with them. This is how I know that this is God's work. So I'll keep at it.

Children's books are just one avenue for reaching the next generation. Children are flexible and learn in so many different ways. I would love to hear stories of other ways Christians are reaching the next generation for Christ. They truly are the future of Christianity.

1. Stanley, Andy, History's Mystery, http://northpoint.org/messages/history-mystery , April 20, 2014