By Ann C. Wayne

Special to the Salisbury Post

Children ask a lot of questions. This is how they learn. Tammy Blackburn, Children’s pastor at Crossroads Church in Concord, realized that the children in her church asked questions about God that parents may not always know how to answer.

She wanted to answer the questions that continually came up in a way that children could understand. With so many bad things in the world, Blackburn came up with the idea to write a series of books to answer these questions. The first one is titled, “How Do I Know?” and is written for children of all ages. The book is written in verse style in a non-clichway to help children understand that God is real. A parent or grandparent can read the book to younger children or an older child can read the book themselves.

Blackburn grew up in rural Salisbury. Her parents are Bobby and the late Rinda Kluttz. She attended schools in Rowan County and experienced many struggles throughout her life. Her oldest son’s eye cancer at six weeks and the death of her husband later in 2003 resulted in financial struggles.

But Blackburn is an overcomer. She received her bachelor of science in psychology and early childhood

 

Tammy Blackburn, children’s pastor at Crossroads Church in Concord, wrote a book to help children understand that God is real.

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development in 2011 and is currently working on a masters diploma in counseling. She has worked in children’s ministry for more than 30 years and has sharpened her writing skills through writing children’s curricula, parenting tips and inspirational articles.

The illustrations in “How Do I Know” are colorful and beautifully portray each verse to give the child a vision of the conversation between young Michael, a curious little boy, and his mother, who tries to answer his questions. He is afraid to ask his mom the big question, “Is God real?” You can read the book to find out how Michael’s mom answers his question.

Blackburn said, “If a child does not know who God is, they could read the book and understand that God is real.” Her hope is that the book will have a long shelf life and minister to children even when she is gone. The book can be purchased on Amazon.

It is also a great tool for Sunday school teachers, children’s pastors, elementary school teachers, parents, grandparents or anyone else who works with elementary age children.

Blackburn’s launch party to introduce the book will be held on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Crossroads Church in the café at 220 George W. Liles Parkway, Concord. The public is invited for light refreshments and the chance to meet Blackburn. Children will have the opportunity to sit and listen to Blackburn read her book during the party.