Who cares about a book business if my kids don't have their mom, and I’m not present with them?" ~ Lindsay Vroegindewey
How do you foster biblical character in your kids through reading? In this inspiring Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast episode, Aby Rinella chats with Lindsey Vroegindewey about creating a collection of books that reflect your family’s values. Lindsey explains how she launched Big Sky Life Books in response to the difficulty of finding safe, quality stories in public libraries today.
Listen for her practical system for reviewing and selecting literature, the joys (and reality) of involving her kids in the family business, and the dramatic viral moment that brought national attention—and support—to her shop. Lindsey’s situation is a powerful reminder that God can turn attacks into blessings!
Discover booklists, strategies for diligent parenting, and encouragement for those balancing motherhood and business. If you want to build a home filled with great stories and faith, this episode is for you!
Recommended Resources:
Submit Your Homeschooling Questions
“Let’s Adventure Together” Aby's Rinella’s Book Bundle
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Recommended Podcasts:
- The Ministry of Motherhood, with Yvette Hampton and Aby Rinella
- Teaching Language Arts: Mastering Reading - Andrew Pudewa
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It is a constant juggle and in my mind is like, well, who am I
doing this for? Who cares about a book business
if my kids aren't don't have their mom and I'm not present
with them. So it is that constant, you
know, keep my priorities in check.
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I'm Abby Rennella or also known as Avenella.
(00:21):
I got the nickname and I'm so excited to be back with you guys
this week with Lindsay. Say it, Lindsay, your last name.
There it is. She's here.
She's back. We hope you guys, if you did not
listen to last week, you need togo back and listen to it.
We were talking all things booksand we're going to carry that
conversation on again. But first I need to thank our
(00:42):
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(01:07):
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(01:27):
Yeah. If someone can make calculus
fun, send them my way. Right.
That's why we're here talking about books, Lindsay, not math.
OK, so last week we talked aboutjust the importance of reading.
But I love the quote that you said people use, and it's
totally bunk. Is what what was it?
As long as it doesn't matter what you're reading, as long as
you're reading, which is absolute garbage.
(01:48):
That is simply not true, right? And then we went in and we just
talked about it really does matter what your kids are
reading it. It's foundational for their
character. It's kind of like kids listening
to music. I was just having this talk with
my son. Like what goes in it kind of
becomes a part of you, right? And So what kids are reading
really, really matters. And so we discussed all of that.
(02:09):
We discussed what makes an excellent book and building our
own libraries, but I know that everybody is going to want to
know, and I actually want to discuss that a little bit.
We talked about how you pick books, but in your mind, if you
were to pick like the top three things that make an excellent
book, what would you choose? I'm putting you on the spot.
You are putting me on the spot. Let's see.
(02:30):
Oh, good illustrations. It's kind.
Of I was helping you, it's kind.Of just draw me in.
Yes, yes, yes. Good illustrations, a good
storyline, perks if it is based in part on a true story.
I love those. And yeah, a fun storyline.
I love a good storyline. Sometimes I love a good book
(02:51):
that rhymes. Rhymes well, okay, but I am.
My favorite is a beautifully illustrated picture book based
on a true story. I love it.
Oh my goodness, you are my soul sister.
That's mine too. And a kid walks away and and
feels like they were somewhat changed or inspired or
encouraged or challenged by the book.
Right. OK, I have to ask you, do you
(03:13):
like the books that do the like?So it starts with a line and
then the next page it has that line and it adds a line and then
the next page it has the 1st 2 lines and adds a third line.
Do you know what I'm talking about?
Yeah, sometimes I get exhausted.I can't handle them.
I can't, and neither can my kids.
I'm trying to think if we have any of those.
I'm trying to think of one that I'm talking about.
(03:34):
You know what I mean, right? Where this?
Is the house that Jack built, and this is this and this is.
And then you have to keep reading the first line like 700
times by the end of the book, OK?
Yeah, I wonder if we have any ofthose.
I know, I'm curious if you do. It's probably good if you put it
on your website, right? OK, so the other, the thing that
we got into actually before we go there, everybody's going to
(03:55):
want to know, can you tell us what your favorite?
I'm going to I'm going to put you on the spot again, your top
three favorite children's books and then share some of your
others. OK, well I have.
I have two series that I love, so I might tell you those and
then I might tell you a couple of books.
OK, so. When I first started and had
(04:17):
this dream to start this bookstore, there was the Flicka
Ricka Dicka collection that was like, oh, I have to be able to
sell those. And so sometimes when I get
books that I want to sell, it's the deep research pit of is it
still being published? Who's publishing it?
Where can I get it? And then this, this set, Flicka,
Ricka Dicka, there's seven in the series and they they are
(04:42):
about triplet girls in Sweden. And these were published in like
thirties, 40s. So maybe they're going to be
great. They're.
So great. Yeah.
Sometimes you look at the publication date and you're
like, oh, it's got to be good. Totally.
And then there's the, and then there's the boy version, which
is snip snap snur. And it's also three triplet
boys. Now these are in paperback.
(05:02):
What I love about these books isyou've got three brothers, three
sisters in the books, and they are kind.
They're so kind to each other. They're respectful to their mom,
and they have adventures together.
So they're, you know, and the boys in the big surprise, they
want to have a chair built for their mom to surprise her.
And they have no money. So you watch them work for each
(05:25):
section that you know to build the cherry, the guy with the
fabric and the guy with the stuffing and the guy with the
wood frame. And they do it all the way
through. And then in Flicka Ricka Dicka
go to market. The three girls want bicycles
and they have no money. So they go and they plant a
garden and they sow the crops and they go to farmers market
and they sell it and then they go buy their bikes.
So there's your character trait of like the work ethic, right?
(05:47):
And they're having a goal. Oh my gosh, they're precious and
not. Kids are like, I want this, why
can't I have it? And and they're so kind and
respectful to each other. So when we're reading kids books
with kids bickering, well, I don't want to do that because
there's enough bickering in my home, right?
I would love to read books wherethe kids get along and their
joy, their they find joy in eachother.
(06:08):
So flicka Ricka Dicka snip snap snur still being published.
Wow. And So what age?
What age are you thinking? Oh, goodness.
I would start at 3:00 and I would go nine.
OK, I would go 9 and. Moms, as you're reading these to
your kids don't have a false sense of every kid gets along
(06:28):
and every kid the the goal of these books is to give your kids
good examples, right? We want to give our kids good
examples in the books they're reading, but we don't want to
get discouraged as mom to to go.Why aren't my kids always happy
to serve me right? Because like you said, you live
in a home where there already isbickering.
Why would we intentionally spendour free time bringing that in
(06:49):
into story? It's it would be foolishness.
And so I love, I love, I love that your goal here and what
you're helping encourage parentsdo is to build biblical
character qualities in our children through literature.
And that's what you're all about.
That's what your store is all about.
That's what we're talking about here is how important it is to
build that in our kids and to build our own home libraries.
(07:13):
What is your experience with, and we're going to get back to
books. Don't don't worry, moms and
dads, we're going to we're goingto sprinkle books throughout
this episode. But what's your experience with
public libraries, school libraries right now, and the
importance of building our own home libraries right now?
Well, it's, it's hard to let your kids wander in the
(07:33):
libraries now. And I use my library
extensively, but we place everything on hold or I do
interlibrary loans. We do have another small library
nearby. And I actually talked to the
librarian and I said you actually your library is safe
for my kids to wander. So I just, I wanted to encourage
her with that. So it is hit and miss depending
on where you live who's in charge of purchasing them, but I
(07:57):
think we have lost that ability for a normal government funded
Public Library to just let our kids wander and read whatever
they want. And I love what you're doing
because like you said, government funded and when and,
and we just on the Schoolhouse Rock podcast, we really, you
know, encourage parents to get away from government funded
education, government funded homeschooling government, which
(08:20):
wouldn't be homeschooling government funded anything.
But but what's cool is you're giving us alternative.
Hey, God has given us gifts, Godhas given us talents.
Let's create something different.
Let's create something better, right?
And that's where this mom entrepreneurship has come
because you faced a problem, right?
Like it's, it's, it's getting hard to find good books.
(08:44):
It's getting harder and harder. And one of my questions actually
is, I remember in 2020, everybody was saying buy all the
books now because all the new books are garbage and they're
going to discontinue all the good classics.
Is that true? Oh my goodness, it's so
disappointing. It is true.
Oh, I was hoping you were going to debunk it.
So we really do need to be building our home libraries for
our grandchildren. So I get so frustrated when I
(09:06):
buy, when I stock a book and then I go to restock it and it's
out of print. And this has happened dozens of
times in the in the small three years that I've been open, like
pumpkin render, independence cake.
You know, I just actually I talked to the publisher about
the Snip snap Snur and I said OK, tell me what do you think?
And they said these are on the table to go out of print.
(09:26):
So. I ordered a lot.
Of these good job. So it's like, can you give me a
heads up? They can't give me a heads up on
everything. Or Little Golden Books, you know
which ones? Some of them I stocked.
Well, now they're out of print. Well, darn it, if I've known, I
would have just ordered so many.So it is true.
I think what they've told me is when a book is in hardcover,
(09:46):
you're safe. When it's in paperback, the next
step is to go out of print. So if there are, I have some
people that contact me and they're like, oh, I love this
book as a kid. Can you get it?
And it's like, no, no, but you can get it used for $45.
Oh my goodness. So if you do love those classics
or you see them, grab them. Because we do need to grab them.
(10:08):
OK, that's good to know. I was, I was wondering if that
was something that we have to debunk.
So, OK, so you saw a problem andwe're and we are seeing a
problem. It's hard to get good books.
Books aren't what they used to be.
We can't let our kids just aimlessly wander the library
like we could. And so you decided as a mom, I'm
going to do something about it, right?
We're going to the Lord put it on your heart.
We're let's do something about it.
(10:29):
And it's so interesting to hear you talk about the character
qualities that you love in the books that you're putting on
your website, because those are the character qualities that God
used in you to launch Big Sky just to launch your business,
right? And that's what's really cool.
It took, it took courage and it took stepping out and it took
(10:49):
this entrepreneurship. So there's a lot of moms.
It, it, it reminds me of Proverbs 31, right?
We have our hands in so many different things.
You are homeschooling, you're a mom, you're a wife, and now your
family is building this business.
How do you juggle all of it? Well, I don't, it's by the grace
of God. So it's, it's constantly re
(11:11):
evaluating what we're doing. So you know, my work hours are
usually once the kids go to bed until late.
So a lot of my emails get returned and messages get
responded to when it's not a really good time for the East
Coast. So that's when a lot of my and
my orders get packed during resttime every day.
And so it's just re evaluating with the family, where are we
(11:33):
at? What are we doing?
Oh man, you know, we're really slacking in these areas.
So let's like let up on social media and balance things out.
So it is a constant juggle. But in my mind, it's like, well,
who am I doing this for? I Who cares about a book
business if my kids aren't, don't have their mom and I'm not
present with them. So it is that constant, you
(11:54):
know, keep my priorities in check.
Right, right. And that's so good.
We actually did an episode yearsago called Motherhood.
It was based about motherhood being your first ministry.
And at the very beginning of last week's episode, you had
talked about how you were actually working in legislation.
You were, you were in a, in a world, you were working mom, and
then you realized you stepped away from that because you came
(12:16):
home to your kids and that was your first ministry and that was
your first priority. And then it's really cool to see
that with this new adventure that the Lord has put on you,
this new call in your heart, youare still keeping motherhood as
your first ministry because that's the first ministry God
calls us to. And to me, that's why God's
going to bless it is because youare keeping that as your first
(12:36):
ministry and the Lord's going touse that.
Do you involve your kids in it at all?
Are they involved in the process?
They're my researchers. So it's it's.
So it's great is if I get a stack of books to, you know,
review for the store. Oh, they love it.
Oh, we all sit and you know, I've got those big chairs that
we can all fit in and we just read and this is research for
the shop and they love it and they'll tell me it's wholesome
(12:57):
or it's not wholesome or, you know, we should sell it or we
shouldn't sell it. And then I love that anytime you
know, when your phone goes off with a book order, you know,
Shopify Ding and my little girl goes, praise the Lord.
Oh my goodness, I. Love.
That they they do. And you know.
Every time I make an order, I'm going to know that that's what's
(13:18):
being said. But you know, that's the beauty
of home school is that you aren't shipping your kids off
for someone else to do your job.So you can do this job and they
come home and have no clue what you're doing, right?
They're involved in it. They're all hands on deck like
this is the building of a familybusiness.
This is what I believe God has called us to do.
And they're getting an incredible education that they
(13:38):
wouldn't get otherwise just by doing this with you.
Yeah, lucky buggers. It's like, you know, the Meg
Ryan in the You've Got Mail and she's got her whole bookstore
and she remembers her and her mom working in the bookstore.
And my bookstore might be my guest room, my former guest
room. But you know, I think of that.
It's like when I my little toddler goes in and just sits
down and starts reading. I was like, oh, he's just got
(14:00):
the best life. He has this whole bookstore in
his own house. I love it.
So it is. It is fun for them.
I love that. OK, before we go to a break,
what advice would you have for amom who motherhood is her first
ministry? She knows that she's going to
keep that priority, but the Lordhas put something on her heart
such as He did with you. What would your advice be?
(14:22):
Well, evaluate your time and talk to your husband and think
about it and then just go for it.
If you think too much about it, you're not going to do it.
Just go for it. You, you can always, you can
always stop doing it. You know, what are you good at?
What are you talented? What skill do you have that
other people need to know about?And then and then go for it.
Yeah. Just do it.
I love that. I love it, I love it.
(14:44):
It just reminds me of the Proverbs 31 moment.
Well, we're going to take a quick break and then we're going
to be back with the story. I've kind of been excited to
share with everybody and kind ofthe story that a little bit put
you on the map sort of kind of. So we're going to take a quick
break and we will be back with Lindsay.
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All right, we are back with Lindsay.
By. The end of this episode, I'm
going to have it down Lindsay, Ihave loved this episode so a
little bit I have to go back. So I shared that I heard about
you. My cousin called me.
(16:29):
Well, my my cousin's husband called me and he said, have you
heard about this lady? Because I am always making book
lists and as I speak, I'm sharing and I actually have a
book list that we're going to talk about online that I was
like, I'm sending people to Amazon, like you said.
And I don't always love that. And so he just shared, you know,
who you are and what you were doing.
And then I, I kind of was like, I feel like, I feel like I've
(16:50):
maybe like heard of her. Like you kind of sounded
familiar, but I'm like, how did she sound familiar?
And he goes, well, I'll tell youbecause she was recently noted
by Ali Beth Stuckey on her social media And all of a sudden
I went, she's that Lady. So I want you to share.
(17:11):
And and what I think that this is neat is this goes back to it
was last week. We talked about how as you and I
were putting a book list together, I suggested a book and
you had caught something in it. And I was so grateful you did
it. Talked about billions of years.
And you just said, you know, we can't carry that, which made me
go. I love you for that.
But you had alluded to last week.
(17:32):
However, I haven't always caughtevery little thing.
So can you just take a minute and share this big story with
our audience? My humble pie moment, your.
Humble pie moment that's. Not used for Yeah.
So there is one book that we stopped and it's a great book
about the creation of Central Park and sold it to a customer
(17:55):
who then put a review online that said, oh, watch out for the
last page. There's a small image
illustration of a gay wedding. And of course, you know, you
read your reviews and you like shoot how what?
So I grabbed it and it's small. It's this little illustration.
It was kind of a portraying a modern Central Park.
And that's why they put that in there.
(18:17):
And so I said, you know, if you have it, maybe put a little
sticker over that or maybe add adress to one of the people and I
didn't. And, you know, add Instagram,
which we know is a good marketing tool.
A lot of people are always wanting to know my standards.
So they're always, well, I know you're wholesome.
What does that mean? So.
Totally. Because one person's idea of
(18:37):
wholesome is entirely different than another person's.
Like, you know how I know that is when you get on like any sort
of TV show and it's like the kids section, you're like, whoa,
wait a minute, right? This isn't wholesome.
This isn't wholesome. So OK, Yeah.
So your standards are? So, yeah, so we did a quick, you
know, little video. This, you know, book has been
removed, unfortunately. And then I don't know how about
(18:59):
a month ago it's a movie or the reel went viral.
An account who has millions of followers decided to make a call
to sabotage Big Sky Life books. So and so this.
Account was obviously a person who highly disagreed with your
take on this and they were obviously thought that that
picture was wonderful and so they wanted to take you out
(19:21):
because they didn't like your message.
Yeah. So then, you know, the hate
messages started thousands and thousands and thousands on
Facebook. And then just, you know, all the
comments, all the just really not good comments.
I mean, started so that was on aSaturday morning and they just
continued. And then several, several people
(19:43):
on Instagram, I found out later started reaching out to some big
influencers and saying, Hey, youknow, Lindsay, big school life
book. She's been under attack.
Go check her out. And, and Ally shared, she said
go share her arrows. Yeah.
And yeah, I love listening to Ally's podcast.
And her whole thing was, you know, sharing the arrows.
So then all of the thousands more came over and were like,
(20:03):
we're here to share your arrows.And and it just, I mean, it
really, you know, beat me up fora few hours when you're just
being slammed with all these attack and threats and then to
turn around and see your inbox just fill up with scripture and
prayers and encouragement and orders.
I mean, the orders didn't stop. For two days.
So it just didn't, you know, I had to turn it off because it
(20:24):
was praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
So it's such a gift to see something that they really
intended for just to be cruel, right?
To turn around to see God use itfor amazing growth with our
business. That that story to me after I
(20:46):
already fell in love with what you were doing and your mission
and just your heart. And then I put that together and
it just this is how it inspired me is and and this is what I
want to share with homeschool moms when we answer the call
that God has given us as moms, as homeschool moms, as wives, as
Christ followers, we're putting a target on our back.
(21:07):
We just are. And when we stand for what's
right, we're going to we're going to be attacked.
But but even more so, you made alittle mistake, right?
You didn't catch that picture. And I think so often as
homeschool moms, we make mistakes.
Your heart was completely right.Your heart was totally for the
Lord. You just made a human mistake.
And I think we make mistakes as homeschool moms and then we just
(21:30):
let the enemy get into our head.Like all those emails that were
coming into you just attacking, attacking.
We allow the enemy to get into our head.
You're not good enough. Your kids are going to be a
failure. You failed at teaching them
algebra. You didn't give them enough time
yesterday on this. You know, you didn't make the
home cooked meal. Oh my goodness, you're not
making sourdough bread. What a failure of a homeschool
mom, are you right? And we just let the enemy get
(21:51):
into our head over and over. And his goal is to derail us.
But at the end of the day, we know that God has called us to
this and we're going to make mistakes, but his grace is
greater, his mercy is greater and and he redeems all things.
And he doesn't just redeem it, but he makes it better like he
did in your story. I mean, it put you on the map.
(22:11):
God turned to that mistake you you made and he used it to just
to launch what you're doing. And it's incredible and to
encourage and to inspire parentsto give their kids good books.
And the other thing that struck me is it was those other people
that were holding you up. It was the body of Christ that
was holding you up that kept yougoing.
And that's why we as homeschool moms, we need one another.
(22:33):
We need one another. On those really hard days where
we feel like we're failing and the enemy's attacking us, we
need those moms to come along and say, God got this.
And this is the call you've beengiven.
And so long as you're seeking him and honoring him and obeying
him, you're not going to mess itup because he's so much bigger
than we are, right? Like who are we to think that we
can mess up God's plan as long as we're seeking his will?
(22:54):
So that story has been incredible.
And I mean, do you, do you feel,do you see how big that God used
that? He did and it was amazing.
I just, I didn't know there was,there were that many believers
on Instagram coming to share thearrows.
I mean, it was just mind blowing.
(23:14):
And it continues, you know, it continues people coming on and
you know, it's funny. Some even came over and said we
had followed that other account and then we saw them sabotage
you and we knew that was wrong. So we've unfollowed them and
we're following you. So it's even even those people.
It's like, you know, there's that thing, you know, if you are
doing what's right and followingthe Lord and not being attacked,
(23:36):
Nah, something's wrong. You know, like we will have we
we need to be in the world of the world.
But it was just amazing to see that turn around and that
support and it yeah, what God was it Genesis 5020?
I don't remember the exact verse, but a lot of people sent
that to me. What they intended for, evil,
God intended for. Good.
So true. That's the first thing that I
(23:57):
thought when when I heard that is like, oh man, if those people
only knew how much they are furthering the gospel.
Like, I am sorry if that accountthat attacked you only knew how
many incredible gifts and books and, and messages that children
are going to receive because of their attack, right?
Kids are going to hear the gospel.
(24:17):
Kids are going to get good books.
Kids are going to build great character.
Kids are going to sit on coucheswith moms and dads and read more
than they ever would have had they not attacked you.
And that is ultimately what our job is right, is to share the
gospel and to spread the gospel.And you have an even greater
opportunity to do it because of them.
Yeah, it was pretty incredible. That's pretty that's.
(24:39):
My God story it. Is your God story, write it
down, share, share it with your kids because you know what, it's
not going to be the last time that you're attacked and you can
really just hold up, you know, other people that are being
attacked by reminding them, hey,God's got this.
So that's true. Anyway, OK, before we go, we
have something really exciting to share.
I'm excited to share. I've teamed up with Big Sky Life
(25:04):
Books to put together a collection of books that you
guys all know are going to be near and dear to my heart.
Because not only do I love pointing kids to Jesus, but I
really believe that getting kidsin creation and pointing to our
creator through creation is an excellent way to point children
and families to the Lord. So Lindsay and I work together
and we have put together a group, A collection of books
(25:26):
that inspire families to get outdoors together, to inspire
kids to get outdoors. If you're on YouTube watching us
right now, look at this collection of books.
Isn't it cool? Nothing in there will say
billions of years because we're pointing to creation and the
creator actually more than anything.
So if you get on Big Sky lifebooks.com, you can go to
(25:47):
partners and you'll Scroll down and you'll see called to the top
and you can see that collection there.
You can buy the books individually or if you buy it as
a collection, there's a discount, right?
You can use Abby the the word isthe letters ABY for 10% off and
get those kids. They get those books into kids
hands because ultimately we wantto point kids to Jesus.
(26:08):
We want kids to be reading with families and we want kids
outdoors. And that's an awesome goal.
If that's all you're doing, momsand dads, you are doing the
absolute best you could possiblyto homeschool your kids.
So. It's true, Yeah.
It was super exciting to put together the Abbey collection.
Yeah. Full of outdoors and just
perfect time for summer. I just a couple of these books
were new to me and I was excitedto add them to the shop.
(26:29):
And my husband, my my tech guy behind the scenes even said,
yeah, these are some really goodbooks.
So we're really excited to put it together and get it in kids
hands for the summer. We yes, 'cause it's the perfect,
it is the perfect time to get kids outdoors.
So check out those books, go over and support Lindsay,
support what they're doing, share the arrows, share what
(26:50):
she's doing. This is, I mean, I'm talking
gifts for grandparents. Really, you guys, this is what
it's going to take instead of shopping on Amazon instead of
you know, instead of perpetuating all of that, let's
step aside. Let's do really great things.
I know Garrett, the producer always of this show is talk show
talks about like when Christiansare doing things that needs to
(27:10):
be done in excellence, right Andjust not halfway but and
Lindsay, that's what you guys are doing over at Big Sky
lifebooks.com and we are so excited to share that with
family. So you guys, we love you.
We thank you for being here. Lindsay, last chance, besides
your website, where can people find you?
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube andBig Sky Life Books.
(27:31):
Awesome. Thanks for being here.
You guys come back next week. We have another awesome host
with another awesome guest, and we can't wait to see you back
here. You're listening to the Biblical
Family Network. Hey, I'm Miki and I'm Will and
we're the Co host of the CultureProof podcast.
We want to invite you to join usevery week as we discuss what's
(27:53):
happening in the world and then filter those happenings through
a decidedly biblical lens. There are many questions,
especially when we see what's happening in our culture today,
but the answers are found withinthe word of God.
So that's where we want to look.Amen.
When we resist those cultural trends that rival the truth, we
remain culture proof. It's not just about teaching the
(28:15):
mechanics of mathematics and language and logic, but how
these subjects relate to Christ.And that's something that we all
need to think through because ifyou've gone through a public
education system like I did, you've not been trained to think
that way. You've been trained to think
that subjects are neutral, that God is irrelevant to math and
science and literature. And so I've had to retrain my
(28:35):
brain over the over the decades to realize, now wait a minute,
the fear of the Lord's, the beginning of knowledge, that's
what the Bible says. And so every topic that I start
with should start with God in its relationship to God.
It is a constant juggle and in my mind is like, well, who am I
doing this for? Who cares about a book business
if my kids aren't don't have their mom and I'm not present
with them. So it is that constant, you
know, keep my priorities in check.
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I'm Abby Rennella or also known as Avenella.
(00:21):
I got the nickname and I'm so excited to be back with you guys
this week with Lindsay. Say it, Lindsay, your last name.
There it is. She's here.
She's back. We hope you guys, if you did not
listen to last week, you need togo back and listen to it.
We were talking all things booksand we're going to carry that
conversation on again. But first I need to thank our
(00:42):
sponsor, CTC Math. If you're looking a math program
that truly works, CTC Math has you covered.
They offer easy to follow video lessons, step by
(01:07):
She said since using CTC Math, my daughter has stopped
stressing over math and I find her actually enjoying it.
Thank you so much for all you'vedone to help her find success in
a subject she hated but now enjoys.
Sign up today at ctcmath.com andstart start your free trial.
CTC Math. Math made easy.
(01:27):
Yeah. If someone can make calculus
fun, send them my way. Right.
That's why we're here talking about books, Lindsay, not math.
OK, so last week we talked aboutjust the importance of reading.
But I love the quote that you said people use, and it's
totally bunk. Is what what was it?
As long as it doesn't matter what you're reading, as long as
you're reading, which is absolute garbage.
(01:48):
That is simply not true, right? And then we went in and we just
talked about it really does matter what your kids are
reading it. It's foundational for their
character. It's kind of like kids listening
to music. I was just having this talk with
my son. Like what goes in it kind of
becomes a part of you, right? And So what kids are reading
really, really matters. And so we discussed all of that.
(02:09):
We discussed what makes an excellent book and building our
own libraries, but I know that everybody is going to want to
know, and I actually want to discuss that a little bit.
We talked about how you pick books, but in your mind, if you
were to pick like the top three things that make an excellent
book, what would you choose? I'm putting you on the spot.
You are putting me on the spot. Let's see.
(02:30):
Oh, good illustrations. It's kind.
Of I was helping you, it's kind.Of just draw me in.
Yes, yes, yes. Good illustrations, a good
storyline, perks if it is based in part on a true story.
I love those. And yeah, a fun storyline.
I love a good storyline. Sometimes I love a good book
(02:51):
that rhymes. Rhymes well, okay, but I am.
My favorite is a beautifully illustrated picture book based
on a true story. I love it.
Oh my goodness, you are my soul sister.
That's mine too. And a kid walks away and and
feels like they were somewhat changed or inspired or
encouraged or challenged by the book.
Right. OK, I have to ask you, do you
(03:13):
like the books that do the like?So it starts with a line and
then the next page it has that line and it adds a line and then
the next page it has the 1st 2 lines and adds a third line.
Do you know what I'm talking about?
Yeah, sometimes I get exhausted.I can't handle them.
I can't, and neither can my kids.
I'm trying to think if we have any of those.
I'm trying to think of one that I'm talking about.
(03:34):
You know what I mean, right? Where this?
Is the house that Jack built, and this is this and this is.
And then you have to keep reading the first line like 700
times by the end of the book, OK?
Yeah, I wonder if we have any ofthose.
I know, I'm curious if you do. It's probably good if you put it
on your website, right? OK, so the other, the thing that
we got into actually before we go there, everybody's going to
(03:55):
want to know, can you tell us what your favorite?
I'm going to I'm going to put you on the spot again, your top
three favorite children's books and then share some of your
others. OK, well I have.
I have two series that I love, so I might tell you those and
then I might tell you a couple of books.
OK, so. When I first started and had
(04:17):
this dream to start this bookstore, there was the Flicka
Ricka Dicka collection that was like, oh, I have to be able to
sell those. And so sometimes when I get
books that I want to sell, it's the deep research pit of is it
still being published? Who's publishing it?
Where can I get it? And then this, this set, Flicka,
Ricka Dicka, there's seven in the series and they they are
(04:42):
about triplet girls in Sweden. And these were published in like
thirties, 40s. So maybe they're going to be
great. They're.
So great. Yeah.
Sometimes you look at the publication date and you're
like, oh, it's got to be good. Totally.
And then there's the, and then there's the boy version, which
is snip snap snur. And it's also three triplet
boys. Now these are in paperback.
(05:02):
What I love about these books isyou've got three brothers, three
sisters in the books, and they are kind.
They're so kind to each other. They're respectful to their mom,
and they have adventures together.
So they're, you know, and the boys in the big surprise, they
want to have a chair built for their mom to surprise her.
And they have no money. So you watch them work for each
(05:25):
section that you know to build the cherry, the guy with the
fabric and the guy with the stuffing and the guy with the
wood frame. And they do it all the way
through. And then in Flicka Ricka Dicka
go to market. The three girls want bicycles
and they have no money. So they go and they plant a
garden and they sow the crops and they go to farmers market
and they sell it and then they go buy their bikes.
So there's your character trait of like the work ethic, right?
(05:47):
And they're having a goal. Oh my gosh, they're precious and
not. Kids are like, I want this, why
can't I have it? And and they're so kind and
respectful to each other. So when we're reading kids books
with kids bickering, well, I don't want to do that because
there's enough bickering in my home, right?
I would love to read books wherethe kids get along and their
joy, their they find joy in eachother.
(06:08):
So flicka Ricka Dicka snip snap snur still being published.
Wow. And So what age?
What age are you thinking? Oh, goodness.
I would start at 3:00 and I would go nine.
OK, I would go 9 and. Moms, as you're reading these to
your kids don't have a false sense of every kid gets along
(06:28):
and every kid the the goal of these books is to give your kids
good examples, right? We want to give our kids good
examples in the books they're reading, but we don't want to
get discouraged as mom to to go.Why aren't my kids always happy
to serve me right? Because like you said, you live
in a home where there already isbickering.
Why would we intentionally spendour free time bringing that in
(06:49):
into story? It's it would be foolishness.
And so I love, I love, I love that your goal here and what
you're helping encourage parentsdo is to build biblical
character qualities in our children through literature.
And that's what you're all about.
That's what your store is all about.
That's what we're talking about here is how important it is to
build that in our kids and to build our own home libraries.
(07:13):
What is your experience with, and we're going to get back to
books. Don't don't worry, moms and
dads, we're going to we're goingto sprinkle books throughout
this episode. But what's your experience with
public libraries, school libraries right now, and the
importance of building our own home libraries right now?
Well, it's, it's hard to let your kids wander in the
(07:33):
libraries now. And I use my library
extensively, but we place everything on hold or I do
interlibrary loans. We do have another small library
nearby. And I actually talked to the
librarian and I said you actually your library is safe
for my kids to wander. So I just, I wanted to encourage
her with that. So it is hit and miss depending
on where you live who's in charge of purchasing them, but I
(07:57):
think we have lost that ability for a normal government funded
Public Library to just let our kids wander and read whatever
they want. And I love what you're doing
because like you said, government funded and when and,
and we just on the Schoolhouse Rock podcast, we really, you
know, encourage parents to get away from government funded
education, government funded homeschooling government, which
(08:20):
wouldn't be homeschooling government funded anything.
But but what's cool is you're giving us alternative.
Hey, God has given us gifts, Godhas given us talents.
Let's create something different.
Let's create something better, right?
And that's where this mom entrepreneurship has come
because you faced a problem, right?
Like it's, it's, it's getting hard to find good books.
(08:44):
It's getting harder and harder. And one of my questions actually
is, I remember in 2020, everybody was saying buy all the
books now because all the new books are garbage and they're
going to discontinue all the good classics.
Is that true? Oh my goodness, it's so
disappointing. It is true.
Oh, I was hoping you were going to debunk it.
So we really do need to be building our home libraries for
our grandchildren. So I get so frustrated when I
(09:06):
buy, when I stock a book and then I go to restock it and it's
out of print. And this has happened dozens of
times in the in the small three years that I've been open, like
pumpkin render, independence cake.
You know, I just actually I talked to the publisher about
the Snip snap Snur and I said OK, tell me what do you think?
And they said these are on the table to go out of print.
(09:26):
So. I ordered a lot.
Of these good job. So it's like, can you give me a
heads up? They can't give me a heads up on
everything. Or Little Golden Books, you know
which ones? Some of them I stocked.
Well, now they're out of print. Well, darn it, if I've known, I
would have just ordered so many.So it is true.
I think what they've told me is when a book is in hardcover,
(09:46):
you're safe. When it's in paperback, the next
step is to go out of print. So if there are, I have some
people that contact me and they're like, oh, I love this
book as a kid. Can you get it?
And it's like, no, no, but you can get it used for $45.
Oh my goodness. So if you do love those classics
or you see them, grab them. Because we do need to grab them.
(10:08):
OK, that's good to know. I was, I was wondering if that
was something that we have to debunk.
So, OK, so you saw a problem andwe're and we are seeing a
problem. It's hard to get good books.
Books aren't what they used to be.
We can't let our kids just aimlessly wander the library
like we could. And so you decided as a mom, I'm
going to do something about it, right?
We're going to the Lord put it on your heart.
We're let's do something about it.
(10:29):
And it's so interesting to hear you talk about the character
qualities that you love in the books that you're putting on
your website, because those are the character qualities that God
used in you to launch Big Sky just to launch your business,
right? And that's what's really cool.
It took, it took courage and it took stepping out and it took
(10:49):
this entrepreneurship. So there's a lot of moms.
It, it, it reminds me of Proverbs 31, right?
We have our hands in so many different things.
You are homeschooling, you're a mom, you're a wife, and now your
family is building this business.
How do you juggle all of it? Well, I don't, it's by the grace
of God. So it's, it's constantly re
(11:11):
evaluating what we're doing. So you know, my work hours are
usually once the kids go to bed until late.
So a lot of my emails get returned and messages get
responded to when it's not a really good time for the East
Coast. So that's when a lot of my and
my orders get packed during resttime every day.
And so it's just re evaluating with the family, where are we
(11:33):
at? What are we doing?
Oh man, you know, we're really slacking in these areas.
So let's like let up on social media and balance things out.
So it is a constant juggle. But in my mind, it's like, well,
who am I doing this for? I Who cares about a book
business if my kids aren't, don't have their mom and I'm not
present with them. So it is that constant, you
(11:54):
know, keep my priorities in check.
Right, right. And that's so good.
We actually did an episode yearsago called Motherhood.
It was based about motherhood being your first ministry.
And at the very beginning of last week's episode, you had
talked about how you were actually working in legislation.
You were, you were in a, in a world, you were working mom, and
then you realized you stepped away from that because you came
(12:16):
home to your kids and that was your first ministry and that was
your first priority. And then it's really cool to see
that with this new adventure that the Lord has put on you,
this new call in your heart, youare still keeping motherhood as
your first ministry because that's the first ministry God
calls us to. And to me, that's why God's
going to bless it is because youare keeping that as your first
(12:36):
ministry and the Lord's going touse that.
Do you involve your kids in it at all?
Are they involved in the process?
They're my researchers. So it's it's.
So it's great is if I get a stack of books to, you know,
review for the store. Oh, they love it.
Oh, we all sit and you know, I've got those big chairs that
we can all fit in and we just read and this is research for
the shop and they love it and they'll tell me it's wholesome
(12:57):
or it's not wholesome or, you know, we should sell it or we
shouldn't sell it. And then I love that anytime you
know, when your phone goes off with a book order, you know,
Shopify Ding and my little girl goes, praise the Lord.
Oh my goodness, I. Love.
That they they do. And you know.
Every time I make an order, I'm going to know that that's what's
(13:18):
being said. But you know, that's the beauty
of home school is that you aren't shipping your kids off
for someone else to do your job.So you can do this job and they
come home and have no clue what you're doing, right?
They're involved in it. They're all hands on deck like
this is the building of a familybusiness.
This is what I believe God has called us to do.
And they're getting an incredible education that they
(13:38):
wouldn't get otherwise just by doing this with you.
Yeah, lucky buggers. It's like, you know, the Meg
Ryan in the You've Got Mail and she's got her whole bookstore
and she remembers her and her mom working in the bookstore.
And my bookstore might be my guest room, my former guest
room. But you know, I think of that.
It's like when I my little toddler goes in and just sits
down and starts reading. I was like, oh, he's just got
(14:00):
the best life. He has this whole bookstore in
his own house. I love it.
So it is. It is fun for them.
I love that. OK, before we go to a break,
what advice would you have for amom who motherhood is her first
ministry? She knows that she's going to
keep that priority, but the Lordhas put something on her heart
such as He did with you. What would your advice be?
(14:22):
Well, evaluate your time and talk to your husband and think
about it and then just go for it.
If you think too much about it, you're not going to do it.
Just go for it. You, you can always, you can
always stop doing it. You know, what are you good at?
What are you talented? What skill do you have that
other people need to know about?And then and then go for it.
Yeah. Just do it.
I love that. I love it, I love it.
(14:44):
It just reminds me of the Proverbs 31 moment.
Well, we're going to take a quick break and then we're going
to be back with the story. I've kind of been excited to
share with everybody and kind ofthe story that a little bit put
you on the map sort of kind of. So we're going to take a quick
break and we will be back with Lindsay.
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All right, we are back with Lindsay.
By. The end of this episode, I'm
going to have it down Lindsay, Ihave loved this episode so a
little bit I have to go back. So I shared that I heard about
you. My cousin called me.
(16:29):
Well, my my cousin's husband called me and he said, have you
heard about this lady? Because I am always making book
lists and as I speak, I'm sharing and I actually have a
book list that we're going to talk about online that I was
like, I'm sending people to Amazon, like you said.
And I don't always love that. And so he just shared, you know,
who you are and what you were doing.
And then I, I kind of was like, I feel like, I feel like I've
(16:50):
maybe like heard of her. Like you kind of sounded
familiar, but I'm like, how did she sound familiar?
And he goes, well, I'll tell youbecause she was recently noted
by Ali Beth Stuckey on her social media And all of a sudden
I went, she's that Lady. So I want you to share.
(17:11):
And and what I think that this is neat is this goes back to it
was last week. We talked about how as you and I
were putting a book list together, I suggested a book and
you had caught something in it. And I was so grateful you did
it. Talked about billions of years.
And you just said, you know, we can't carry that, which made me
go. I love you for that.
But you had alluded to last week.
(17:32):
However, I haven't always caughtevery little thing.
So can you just take a minute and share this big story with
our audience? My humble pie moment, your.
Humble pie moment that's. Not used for Yeah.
So there is one book that we stopped and it's a great book
about the creation of Central Park and sold it to a customer
(17:55):
who then put a review online that said, oh, watch out for the
last page. There's a small image
illustration of a gay wedding. And of course, you know, you
read your reviews and you like shoot how what?
So I grabbed it and it's small. It's this little illustration.
It was kind of a portraying a modern Central Park.
And that's why they put that in there.
(18:17):
And so I said, you know, if you have it, maybe put a little
sticker over that or maybe add adress to one of the people and I
didn't. And, you know, add Instagram,
which we know is a good marketing tool.
A lot of people are always wanting to know my standards.
So they're always, well, I know you're wholesome.
What does that mean? So.
Totally. Because one person's idea of
(18:37):
wholesome is entirely different than another person's.
Like, you know how I know that is when you get on like any sort
of TV show and it's like the kids section, you're like, whoa,
wait a minute, right? This isn't wholesome.
This isn't wholesome. So OK, Yeah.
So your standards are? So, yeah, so we did a quick, you
know, little video. This, you know, book has been
removed, unfortunately. And then I don't know how about
(18:59):
a month ago it's a movie or the reel went viral.
An account who has millions of followers decided to make a call
to sabotage Big Sky Life books. So and so this.
Account was obviously a person who highly disagreed with your
take on this and they were obviously thought that that
picture was wonderful and so they wanted to take you out
(19:21):
because they didn't like your message.
Yeah. So then, you know, the hate
messages started thousands and thousands and thousands on
Facebook. And then just, you know, all the
comments, all the just really not good comments.
I mean, started so that was on aSaturday morning and they just
continued. And then several, several people
(19:43):
on Instagram, I found out later started reaching out to some big
influencers and saying, Hey, youknow, Lindsay, big school life
book. She's been under attack.
Go check her out. And, and Ally shared, she said
go share her arrows. Yeah.
And yeah, I love listening to Ally's podcast.
And her whole thing was, you know, sharing the arrows.
So then all of the thousands more came over and were like,
(20:03):
we're here to share your arrows.And and it just, I mean, it
really, you know, beat me up fora few hours when you're just
being slammed with all these attack and threats and then to
turn around and see your inbox just fill up with scripture and
prayers and encouragement and orders.
I mean, the orders didn't stop. For two days.
So it just didn't, you know, I had to turn it off because it
(20:24):
was praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
So it's such a gift to see something that they really
intended for just to be cruel, right?
To turn around to see God use itfor amazing growth with our
business. That that story to me after I
(20:46):
already fell in love with what you were doing and your mission
and just your heart. And then I put that together and
it just this is how it inspired me is and and this is what I
want to share with homeschool moms when we answer the call
that God has given us as moms, as homeschool moms, as wives, as
Christ followers, we're putting a target on our back.
(21:07):
We just are. And when we stand for what's
right, we're going to we're going to be attacked.
But but even more so, you made alittle mistake, right?
You didn't catch that picture. And I think so often as
homeschool moms, we make mistakes.
Your heart was completely right.Your heart was totally for the
Lord. You just made a human mistake.
And I think we make mistakes as homeschool moms and then we just
(21:30):
let the enemy get into our head.Like all those emails that were
coming into you just attacking, attacking.
We allow the enemy to get into our head.
You're not good enough. Your kids are going to be a
failure. You failed at teaching them
algebra. You didn't give them enough time
yesterday on this. You know, you didn't make the
home cooked meal. Oh my goodness, you're not
making sourdough bread. What a failure of a homeschool
mom, are you right? And we just let the enemy get
(21:51):
into our head over and over. And his goal is to derail us.
But at the end of the day, we know that God has called us to
this and we're going to make mistakes, but his grace is
greater, his mercy is greater and and he redeems all things.
And he doesn't just redeem it, but he makes it better like he
did in your story. I mean, it put you on the map.
(22:11):
God turned to that mistake you you made and he used it to just
to launch what you're doing. And it's incredible and to
encourage and to inspire parentsto give their kids good books.
And the other thing that struck me is it was those other people
that were holding you up. It was the body of Christ that
was holding you up that kept yougoing.
And that's why we as homeschool moms, we need one another.
(22:33):
We need one another. On those really hard days where
we feel like we're failing and the enemy's attacking us, we
need those moms to come along and say, God got this.
And this is the call you've beengiven.
And so long as you're seeking him and honoring him and obeying
him, you're not going to mess itup because he's so much bigger
than we are, right? Like who are we to think that we
can mess up God's plan as long as we're seeking his will?
(22:54):
So that story has been incredible.
And I mean, do you, do you feel,do you see how big that God used
that? He did and it was amazing.
I just, I didn't know there was,there were that many believers
on Instagram coming to share thearrows.
I mean, it was just mind blowing.
(23:14):
And it continues, you know, it continues people coming on and
you know, it's funny. Some even came over and said we
had followed that other account and then we saw them sabotage
you and we knew that was wrong. So we've unfollowed them and
we're following you. So it's even even those people.
It's like, you know, there's that thing, you know, if you are
doing what's right and followingthe Lord and not being attacked,
(23:36):
Nah, something's wrong. You know, like we will have we
we need to be in the world of the world.
But it was just amazing to see that turn around and that
support and it yeah, what God was it Genesis 5020?
I don't remember the exact verse, but a lot of people sent
that to me. What they intended for, evil,
God intended for. Good.
So true. That's the first thing that I
(23:57):
thought when when I heard that is like, oh man, if those people
only knew how much they are furthering the gospel.
Like, I am sorry if that accountthat attacked you only knew how
many incredible gifts and books and, and messages that children
are going to receive because of their attack, right?
Kids are going to hear the gospel.
(24:17):
Kids are going to get good books.
Kids are going to build great character.
Kids are going to sit on coucheswith moms and dads and read more
than they ever would have had they not attacked you.
And that is ultimately what our job is right, is to share the
gospel and to spread the gospel.And you have an even greater
opportunity to do it because of them.
Yeah, it was pretty incredible. That's pretty that's.
(24:39):
My God story it. Is your God story, write it
down, share, share it with your kids because you know what, it's
not going to be the last time that you're attacked and you can
really just hold up, you know, other people that are being
attacked by reminding them, hey,God's got this.
So that's true. Anyway, OK, before we go, we
have something really exciting to share.
I'm excited to share. I've teamed up with Big Sky Life
(25:04):
Books to put together a collection of books that you
guys all know are going to be near and dear to my heart.
Because not only do I love pointing kids to Jesus, but I
really believe that getting kidsin creation and pointing to our
creator through creation is an excellent way to point children
and families to the Lord. So Lindsay and I work together
and we have put together a group, A collection of books
(25:26):
that inspire families to get outdoors together, to inspire
kids to get outdoors. If you're on YouTube watching us
right now, look at this collection of books.
Isn't it cool? Nothing in there will say
billions of years because we're pointing to creation and the
creator actually more than anything.
So if you get on Big Sky lifebooks.com, you can go to
(25:47):
partners and you'll Scroll down and you'll see called to the top
and you can see that collection there.
You can buy the books individually or if you buy it as
a collection, there's a discount, right?
You can use Abby the the word isthe letters ABY for 10% off and
get those kids. They get those books into kids
hands because ultimately we wantto point kids to Jesus.
(26:08):
We want kids to be reading with families and we want kids
outdoors. And that's an awesome goal.
If that's all you're doing, momsand dads, you are doing the
absolute best you could possiblyto homeschool your kids.
So. It's true, Yeah.
It was super exciting to put together the Abbey collection.
Yeah. Full of outdoors and just
perfect time for summer. I just a couple of these books
were new to me and I was excitedto add them to the shop.
(26:29):
And my husband, my my tech guy behind the scenes even said,
yeah, these are some really goodbooks.
So we're really excited to put it together and get it in kids
hands for the summer. We yes, 'cause it's the perfect,
it is the perfect time to get kids outdoors.
So check out those books, go over and support Lindsay,
support what they're doing, share the arrows, share what
(26:50):
she's doing. This is, I mean, I'm talking
gifts for grandparents. Really, you guys, this is what
it's going to take instead of shopping on Amazon instead of
you know, instead of perpetuating all of that, let's
step aside. Let's do really great things.
I know Garrett, the producer always of this show is talk show
talks about like when Christiansare doing things that needs to
(27:10):
be done in excellence, right Andjust not halfway but and
Lindsay, that's what you guys are doing over at Big Sky
lifebooks.com and we are so excited to share that with
family. So you guys, we love you.
We thank you for being here. Lindsay, last chance, besides
your website, where can people find you?
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube andBig Sky Life Books.
(27:31):
Awesome. Thanks for being here.
You guys come back next week. We have another awesome host
with another awesome guest, and we can't wait to see you back
here. You're listening to the Biblical
Family Network. Hey, I'm Miki and I'm Will and
we're the Co host of the CultureProof podcast.
We want to invite you to join usevery week as we discuss what's
(27:53):
happening in the world and then filter those happenings through
a decidedly biblical lens. There are many questions,
especially when we see what's happening in our culture today,
but the answers are found withinthe word of God.
So that's where we want to look.Amen.
When we resist those cultural trends that rival the truth, we
remain culture proof. It's not just about teaching the
(28:15):
mechanics of mathematics and language and logic, but how
these subjects relate to Christ.And that's something that we all
need to think through because ifyou've gone through a public
education system like I did, you've not been trained to think
that way. You've been trained to think
that subjects are neutral, that God is irrelevant to math and
science and literature. And so I've had to retrain my
(28:35):
brain over the over the decades to realize, now wait a minute,
the fear of the Lord's, the beginning of knowledge, that's
what the Bible says. And so every topic that I start
with should start with God in its relationship to God.
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