Welcome

Sometimes, you see, Wren and Gran didn’t paint flowers or clouds or birds or trees.
Sometimes they painted their feelings.
She and Gran called it “painting prayers.”

Gran’s art studio is one of Wren’s favorite places in the world. Not only is it where Wren and Gran paint, but it’s also where they talk about all the good and hard stuff of life—to each other, and to God. Join young Wren as she explores her feelings and discovers that God welcomes our honest prayers.

This gentle story by bestselling Christian novelist Sharon Garlough Brown, paired with exquisite illustrations from Jessica Linn Evans, will be enjoyed by children as well as the adults who read with them. Also included is a note from the author to encourage further conversation about the content.

Discover IVP Kids and share with children the things that matter to God!

Wren Crawford is a social worker who finds herself overwhelmed with the troubles of the world. Her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression are starting to overcome her. She finds solace in art, spiritual formation, and pastoral care along with traditional therapeutic interventions. But a complicated relationship from her past also threatens to undo her progress.

Sharon Garlough Brown’s novel Shades of Light is an exploration of depression, anxiety, caregiving, and the healing journey. In particular, it offers windows into the power of art as a spiritual practice.

In this sequel to Shades of Light, Katherine Rhodes, the beloved director of the New Hope Retreat Center, finds her own grief tapped by Wren Crawford’s struggles with depression and loss. Through a series of letters to Wren, Katherine reflects on the meaning of Christ’s suffering and shares her own story of finding hope. How does one begin to live again under the crushing weight of grief? And how can healing come when there’s so much left unresolved?

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) In a season of loss and change, Wren Crawford and her great-aunt, Katherine Rhodes, share the journey as companions in sorrow and hope. How might disruption become a gift that opens the way to new growth?

In this sequel to Shades of Light and Remember Me, fans of the Sensible Shoes series will not only be able to attend Katherine’s final retreat sessions at New Hope but also encounter old and new friends along the way. Also available: Feathers of Hope Study Guide

The moving story of four strangers who embark together on a journey of spiritual formation.

Join Hannah, Meg, Mara, and Charissa as they reluctantly arrive at a retreat center and find themselves drawn out of their separate stories of isolation and struggle and into a collective journey of spiritual practice, mutual support, and personal revelation.

The women from Sensible Shoes are taking their next steps in the spiritual formation journey. But each of them is finding roadblocks along the way.

The spiritual journey takes unexpected turns for the women of Sensible Shoes in this third book of the series, continuing on from the events of Two Steps Forward. Having been challenged to persevere in hope, can they now embrace the joy of complete surrender?

The women of Sensible Shoes are navigating both deep joy and devastating loss. Can they find equilibrium in the midst of all that has changed?

In this final installment of the Sensible Shoes series, you’re invited to travel with these beloved friends as they endure trials that test their trust and their willingness to walk an extra mile.

Have you enjoyed the journey with Meg, Mara, Charissa, and Hannah? These companion guides will take you deeper into their world and give you an opportunity to try out the spiritual practices that you’ve seen them engage at New Hope Retreat Center.

• Sensible Shoes Study Guide: 12 weeks
• Two Steps Forward Study Guide: 8 weeks;
• Barefoot Study Guide: 12 weeks;
• An Extra Mile Study Guide: 8 weeks;

This companion journal provides space for personal reflection and features lightly-lined pages sprinkled with quotes from Sensible Shoes.

Have you enjoyed the journey with Meg, Mara, Charissa, and Hannah? This companion guide will take you deeper into their world and give you an opportunity to try out the spiritual practices that you’ve seen them engage at New Hope Retreat Center.

Sensible Shoes is an unusual novel, blending a fictional story with nonfiction teaching elements. Some readers view it only as a story of four characters on a journey. Others say yes to a deeper level of reading, embracing the opportunity to take a “sacred journey” along with the characters, by opening themselves to the Spirit’s work and attending to God’s invitations.

The Sensible Shoes Leader’s Kit offers everything you need to invite participants into two different types of experiences: a twelve-week small group or a one-day, weekend, or online retreat.

Sensible Shoes is an unusual novel, blending a fictional story with nonfiction teaching elements. Some readers view it only as a story of four characters on a journey. Others say yes to a deeper level of reading, embracing the opportunity to take a “sacred journey” along with the characters, by opening themselves to the Spirit’s work and attending to God’s invitations. The Sensible Shoes Leader’s Kit offers everything you need to invite participants into two different types of experiences: a twelve-week small group or a one-day, weekend, or online retreat. Included in the kit is both a participant and a leader guide.