Life, Faith, and Saltwater Taffy
Illustrated by Jenny Shute
Imprint: Resource Publications
Life, Faith, and Saltwater Taffy combines a playful beach theme and scriptural foundation to bring fresh perspective to vital topics: living in community with others, balancing self-care with service, navigating the inevitable storms of life, and growing in relationship with God. Readers are welcomed as unique and beloved creations and invited to consider what they would carry for a day by the shore, in order to embrace what is life-giving and set down unnecessary burdens. The book culminates with a look at lighthouses and an exploration of how each individual can provide a clear lens for shining God's light brightly into the world. With its conversational tone and relatable anecdotes, you just may close this book feeling as though you have been sitting by the water, having a heart-to-heart with an encouraging friend.
Each chapter includes a thought-provoking quote and a prayer. A Diving Deeper section follows, with suggestions for reflection, gratitude, further reading, and action. Designed for personal reading or group study, Life, Faith, and Saltwater Taffy also makes a wonderful gift.
Raised on Long Island, New York, J. B. Hazelton is now a church musician and teacher in the Pacific Northwest. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in music education with a religion minor from Pacific Lutheran University, and a master of arts for teachers from the University of Washington. J. B.’s delightfully diverse family includes pastors, priests, and a large Jewish contingent. Her favorite place to be is in, on, or near the water.
“J. B. Hazelton’s book Life, Faith, and Saltwater Taffy unpacks the wonders of faith, hope, and love that overflow from her spiritual beach bag. Forthright and faithful, this book is a wise and winsome immersion in the lively wonders of God’s love and life together with others. The conversational tone of Hazelton’s honesty, humility, vulnerability, and insights are refreshing, renewing, and inspiring.”
—Larry E. Thomas, author of Lily Packed a Facemask: Pastoral Letters During a Pandemic
“Hazelton’s book is full of reflections from her own life that she overlays with spiritual wonderings. . . . I especially like the end of each chapter where she invites the reader to reflect, give thanks, read, and act. For the individual or a small group, this book opens up avenues for reflection, deeper spiritual connections, and engagement.”
—Shelley Bryan Wee, Bishop, Northwest Washington Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America